"  / 


Member  National  Acadeiiiy  of  Sci«'nc«'s  of  the  lnite<l  States. 

Correspijiident  of  tilt-  Bureau  of  r,ougilu(ies  of  France, 

Correspondent  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  the  French  Institute, 

Correspondent  of  the  Swedish  Anthropological  and  Geographical  Society, 

Honorary  Corresponding  Member  Royal  Geographical  Society, 

Honorary  Member  of  the  Geographical  Association  of  Berlin, 

Honorary  Professor  of  Geodesy  and  Astronomj-  and  Professor  of  Geography 

in  the  University  of  California, 

Etc.,  F:tc.,  Etc. 


ifY-, 


THE 


ALASKA  BOUNDARY 


GEORGE     DAVIDSON 

President  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  the  Pacific, 

Etc.,  Etc. 


O      3  3>  J„        3  1 


3       J  J      J  J" 


»  .•  rf      ^     •* 


3 


J 


Published  by 
ALASKA    PACKERS    ASSOCIATION 

SAN    FRANCISCO 
1903 


Copyright  1903  by 
Alaska  Packers  Association 


c    '■•. 


Press  of 

The  Bosqui  Engraving  &  Printing  Co. 

San  Francisco 


^ 


K 


sj 


V 


(>p' 


LETTER    OF    TRANSMISSION. 


San  Francisco,  Cal.,  August,  1903. 


Alaska  Packers  Association, 

San  Francisco 


Dear  Sirs: — I  herewith  transmit  the  paper  which  I  engaged  to 
write  upon  the  Alaska  Boundary. 

It  looks  very  long,  but  I  wished  to  sustain  every  statement  by 
an  appeal  to  charts,  maps,  official  documents,  special  papers,  pro 
and  con,  and  whatever  would  add  authority  to  the  investigation. 

I  have  named  the  authorities,  and  in  critical  points  have  used 
the  original  French  text  of  the  letters  and  documents  that  passed 
between  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  pre- 
ceding the  date  of  the  Convention  of  1825;  and  which,  in  part, 
were  used  in  the  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  of  1892. 

As  I  believe  great  weight  will  be  given  to  a  strict  construction 
of  the  French  texts  of  the  Convention  of  1825,  and  the  Treaty  of 
^^  1867,  I  have  introduced  each  document  with  the  French  and 
English  texts  in  parallel  columns;  and  have  freely  criticised  the 
weak  and  unequivalent  English  translation.  I  understand  that 
the  French  draft  only  was  signed;  certainly  French  was  the 
diplomatic  lang     ge  of  the  earlier  period. 

I  have  given  some  space  to  the  inside  or  secret  history  of  the 
Negotiations  of  1825.  The  boundary  incident  of  the  Convention 
was  confessedly  a  struggle  between  the  two  great  fur  companies, 
Russian  and  British. 

I  have  criticised  the  misquotations  of  the  Canadian  authorities 
in  several  cases;  and  have  referred  to  the  British  Columbia  map  of 
1895  wherein  the  great  mountains  north  of  Lynn  Canal  are 
' '  washed  out ' ' ;  and  have  shown  the  progress  of  Canadian  conten- 
tion since  1885  by  their  maps  and  written  opinions. 


6  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Great  Britain  has  no  claim  whatever  to  the  lisiere  or  border  of 
the  country  surrounding  the  Archipelago.  The  narrowest  part  of 
that  lisiere  will  likely  be  at  the  highest  parts  of  the  White  and 
Chilkoot  Passes;  and  the  thirty  miles  limit  will  cross  the  Chilkaht 
River  more  than  fifteen  miles  beyond  the  modus  vivendi  line  of 
1899. 

I  have  shown  how  the  boundary  line  may  be  laid  down  upon  a 
properly  authorized  map;  and  have  then  explained  how  it  may  be 
arbitrarily  and  prominently  marked  by  natural  objects,  thus  form- 
ing a  broken  line  boundary  nearly  coincident  with  the  curved 
boundary  line.  A  little  ' '  give  and  take ' '  by  both  countries  would 
soon  settle  the  whole  trouble. 

I  have  summed  up  very  briefly  in  stating  that  the  decision  of 
sovereignty  over  the  lisiere  will  largely  depend  upon  a  strict  con- 
struction of  the  French  text  with  the  Charts  and  Narrative  of  Van- 
couver before  the  tribunal ;  and  for  other  reasons. 

I  have  not  hesitated  to  assert  that  the  United  States  has  an  im- 
pregnable right  to  the  territory  and  the  dominion  thereof;  and 
that  this  is  a  question  that  should  never  have  been  submitted  to 
arbitration. 

Yours  with  great  respect, 

GEORGE  DAVIDSON. 


PUBLISHER'S    NOTE. 


The  valuable  paper  prepared  by  Professor  Davidson  upon  the 
ALASKA  BOUNDARY  (originally  intended  for  private  use)  is 
of  such  inestimable  worth  as  an  historical  and  geographical  treatise 
on  that  subject,  that  we  have  concluded  to  publish  it,  with  the 
assurance  that  the  public  will  not  fail  to  appreciate  the  labors  of 
the  venerable  Author,  whose  comprehensive  and  scientific  learning 
and  indomitable  energy  have  been  so  faithfully  exemplified. 

ALASKA  PACKERS  ASSOCIATION. 
San  Francisco. 


THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 


CONTENTS. 

Pagb 

Letter  of  transmission 5 

Publisher''  s  Note 7 

Contents 9 

Personal /J 

Introductory // 

What  was  the  real  and  paramount  issue  that  brought  about  the 

Conventions  of  1824-2^  between  Russia  and  the  United 

States,  and  of  182^  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain....     2j 

The  Early  Explorations  of  the  Russians  in  the  North  Pacific : 

Their  Discoveries  and  Occupation  of  the  lands  discovered. 

Intention  to  control  the  North  Pacific -?7 

Remarks  upon  the  Discovery  and  Occupation  of  Alaska  by 

Simpson,  Findlay,  a7td  the  Duke  of  Wellington j/ 

The  Ofganization  and  early  History  of  the  Russian  American 

Company 41 

The  Ukase  of  18 21 43 

What  were  the  available  Maps  or  Charts  of  the  Northwest 
Coast  of  America  at  the  Epoch  of  the  first  Negotiations 
betwee7t  Russia  and  the  United  States,  and  Russia  and 

Great  Britain  in  1822-182^ 49 

The  Special  Purpose  of  Vancouver''  s  Explorations  on  the  North- 
west Coast. — His  method  of  representing  some  of  the  phys- 
ical features  of  the  country  and  coast jj 

Description  of  the  A rchipelago  Alexander. 57 

Negotiations  leading  to  the  adoption  of  the  Lisi^re jp 

The  views  of  Mr.  George  Canning  and  Mr.  Stratford  Can- 
ning upon  the  Negotiations. — Part  of  the  inside  History...     63 
./^Convention  between  the   United  States  of  America  and  His 
I         Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  relative  to  Navi- 
K        gating,   Fishing,    etc.,   in   the  Pacific    Ocean.       Text  in 

French  and  English 7f 


lO  CONTENTS. 

Page 

Convention  between    Great  Britain    and   Russia.       Text  in 

English  and  French 7P 

Criticism  upon  the  translation  of  certain  important  words  i7i  the 

Conve7itio7i  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain 8^ 

The  Lisiere  or  thirty  7niles  Border  along  the  Co7itine7ital  shore. 

British  and  other  authorities pj 

Resu7ne P7 

Dixo7t  Entrance g8 

Pri7tce  of  Wales  Archipelago pp 

The  7ia7nes  of  Portla7id  Ca7ial^  Observatory  hilet^  a7id  Pri7ice 
of  Wales  Island.     Examination  of  Vancouver' s  Charts 

a7id  Narrative loi 

Russia  jealous  of  her  Territorial  Rights.    182^  to  186^ /07 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  reaching  the  Pacific  from  the 
Mackenzie  River.  The  Rtcssian  Ame7^can  Co77ipa7iy  enter- 
ing the  interior  by  the  Yuko7i  and  other  rivers 11  j 

The  Hudso7i' s  Bay  Co77tpa7iy  never  77iade  any  use  of  the  Taku 

or  Chilkaht  routes  into  the  i7tterior. /// 

The  Treaty  of  i86y  between  Russia  and  the   U7iited  States. 

French  and  E7iglish  texts //p 

Remarks  7ip07i  the  Treaty  of  186'] 12^ 

Geographical  character  of  certain  parts  of  the  Archipelago 

Alexander. 12^ 

The  Continental  Shore 12^ 

Dixon  Entrance /j"/ 

P7'ince  of  Wales  Isla7id. iji 

Portland  Canal 1^2 

La  CrHe  des  Montag7tes 134 

The  Sinuosities  of  the  Coast 7J7 

The  Lisiere  or  Border  of  the  Coast /jp 

Russian^  French  and  Eyiglish  charts  and  maps.     1802  to  i8^g . . .    14^ 
Remarks  upon  the  British^  Russia7i^  French  and  Scottish  Maps 

and  Charts 1^9 

The  Canadia7t  Maps  a7id  Charts :  18 j i  to  igoi 160 

Remarks  upon  the  Canadian  Maps /// 

The  A7nerican  Charts;  i86y  to  igoi //j 


CONTENTS.  1 1 

Page 

Remarks  tipon  the  American  Charts lyy 

Deductions  from  this  Examination  of  the  maps  and  charts i8i 

Contentions  and  Claims  tnade  by  the  Dominion  of  Canada 182 

The^United  States  and  British  Columbia  desire  the  Boundary 
line  to  be  fixed:  Views  of  President  Grant  ^  18  y  2 :  State- 
ments of  Secretary  of  State  Bayard^  1886 18^ 

President  Cleveland'' s  Message  of  March  2^  i88g  :  Criticis?n 
of  the  Statements  of  Major-  General   Cameron   and  Dr. 

Dawson  of  the  Canadia^i  Stirvey  Department , i8g 

The  Modus  Viveiidi  of  i8gg /pj 

To  lay  down  and  7nark  the  Boundary  Line 20 j 

Conclusio7i 20^ 

The~Decision  of  the  Alaska  Boundary   Tribunal ;   October  20^ 

1903 ^.^V:.7. :...... rv;T:TT77:nTv; 209 

APPENDIX. 

PAGE 

Copy  of  Governor  James  Douglas*  letter  of  May  I2th^  1868. 

The  Taku  and  Chilkaht  rivers 2jj 

Chart  to  exhibit  the  Lisiere  as  claimed  by  the  Ufiited  States, 

the   Dominion  of  Canada,  and  British   Cohimbia,    with 

part  of  the  British  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461  of  1836  to 

1865. 
Part  of  chart  No.  8100  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic 

Survey  to  show  the  relation  of  Portla^id  Channel  to  Pearse 

Channel ;  and  the  awarded  boundary. 


PERSONAL. 


Early  in  1867,  while  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  Coast 
Survey,  we  were  assigned  the  duty  of  taking  a  scientific  party  to 
Alaska  to  make  a  geographical  reconnaissance  of  the  coast  wher- 
ever practicable;  and  to  report  upon  the  physical  features  and 
resources  of  the  country  so  far  as  the  short  season  would  permit. 

We  had  been  acquainted  with  the  geography  of  the  whole  Puget 
Sound  region  through  six  seasons  of  geodetic  work  (1852-57);  and 
in  1867  we  made  the  trip  to  Alaska  from  Victoria  through  the 
interior  channels  of  British  Columbia  to  Fort  Simpson,  Sitka,  the 
head  waters  of  Lynn  Canal;  to  the  Kadiak  group,  and  to  Una- 
laska.  Thence  back  to  Sitka  and  through  the  Archipelago 
Alexander.  Our  party  was  transported  by  the  United  States  rev- 
enue steamer  Lincoln. 

In  1867-68,  upon  our  return,  we  were  called  into  conference 
with  Secretary  of  State  Seward  and  Secretary  of  the  Treasury 
McCuUough;  appeared  before  the  Foreign  Relations  Committee  of 
the  Senate,  and  the  Ways  and  Means  Committee  of  the  House  of 
Representatives;  conferred  with  Senator  Sumner  and  others;  and, 
by  invitation  of  the  National  Academy  of  Sciences,  appeared  at 
the  annual  meeting  to  relate,  in  brief,  the  chief  points  of  scientific 
interest  which  we  had  gathered.  So  much  interest  had  been 
excited  by  the  purchase  that  we  had  many  calls  for  magazine  and 
newspaper  articles. 

In  1869,  we  were  again  ordered  to  Alaska  to  observe  the  total 
Solar  eclipse  of  August  7th,  1869,  with  instructions  to  gather  such 
geographical  information  as  was  practicable,  and  to  learn  further  of 
the  resources  of  the  country.  We  left  Sitka  with  a  boat  load  of 
instruments,  and  a  war  canoe  load  of  provisions  and  camping  ma- 
terials. We  had  a  Sitka  chief  and  five  Sitka  Indians  for  the  canoe 
work.  We  were  eleven  days  in  reaching  the  village  of  Klu-kwan' 
on  the  Chilkaht  River,  and  the  highest  of  the  villages.  We  were 
fibred  upon  three  times  in  going  up  the  river,  and,  although  well 
armed,  we  showed  no  resistance. 


14  'THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

Ex-Governor  Seward  arrived  at  the  moutti  of  the  Chilkaht  two 
days  before  the  eclipse,  and  we  sent  a  swift  canoe  down  to  bring 
him  up.  He  was  received  with  great  gravity  and  ceremony  by 
Koh-klux'  and  his  chiefs,  and  about  four  hundred  men  and  women. 
We  afterwards  accompanied  him  on  the  steamer  Active  for  the  next 
twelve  days  through  the  great  channels  of  the  Archipelago  and 
thence  through  the  interior  straits  and  channels  to  Victoria,  and 
finally  to  Portland  and  San  Francisco. 

The  results  of  the  1867  trip  were  published  by  the  Government;* 
and  these  combined  with  those  of  1869,  form  the  Coast  Pilot  of 
Alaska,  Part  I.f 

After  the  purchase,  Congress  seemed  to  take  very  little  further 
interest  in  geographical  work  in  Alaska,  but  each  year  we  submit- 
ted to  the  Superintendent  of  the  Coast  Survey  an  estimate  for  an 
appropriation  to  continue  the  observations  at  the  tidal  station  at 
Kadiak  Island,  and  later  at  Sitka;  this  was  done  to  keep  alive  a 
connection  between  the  Government  and  future  appropriations  for 
an  expansion  of  Coast  Survey  work  in  whatever  part  of  the  region 
should  first  demand  it. 

Another  work  of  import  was  the  reconnaissance  of  the  Yukon 
River  to  its  confluence  with  the  Porcupine  by  Captain  Raymond, 
of  the  United  States  Engineers.  The  special  object  of  this  expedi- 
tion was  to  determine  whether  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  trading 
post  of  Fort  Yukon  was  west  of  the  141st  meridian.  It  proved  to 
be  in  longitude  145°  15',  and  was  abandoned.  This  expedition 
gave  a  running  survey  of  that  river  as  high  as  the  Arctic  Circle. 

In  1872,  placer  gold  discoveries  beyond  the  head  of  the  Stakheen 
excited  the  Canadians  to  obtain  a  route  through  the  lisiere  of  1825 
by  way  of  that  river.  | 

*  House  of  Representatives,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  777,  4<)th  Congress,  2nd  Session, 
February  19,  1868,  pages  219-359. 

-\  Pacific  Coast.  Coast  Pilot  of  Alaska  (First  Part)  from  Southern  Boundary  to 
Cook's  Inlet,  by  George  Davidson,  Assistant  Coast  Survey,  1869:  Washington ; 
Government  Printing  Ofl&ce,  1869  ;  8  vo.,  251  pages,  8  illustrations. 

X  Throughout  this  paper  we  shall  use  this  spelling  in  place  of  the  Stekine, 
Stikine,  Stickeen,  Stachine  River,  etc.  Heen,  heena,  een  or  eena,  in  this  region 
means  a  fresh  water  stream. 


PERSONAL.  15 

The  fisheries  of  Alaska  stimulated  traffic  and  prompted  immigra- 
tion and  capital  to  the  Archipelago  and  other  regions;  the  United 
States  mail  steamers  needed  surveys,  and  Congress  made  appropria- 
tions for  Coast  Survey  parties  in  hydrography  and  topography. 
Many  charts  of  special  localities  were  published. 

When  the  question  of  the  boundary  was  raised  by  Canada,  our 
personal  and  official  interest  in  the  geographical  problem  was  stimu- 
lated, and  more  so  when  the  President's  message  to  Congress  in 
1889  was  published.  That  year  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geo- 
detic Survey  sent  two  astronomical  parties  to  determine  where  the 
141st  meridian  crossed  the  Yukon  and  the  Porcupine  Rivers. 

Upon  the  breaking  out  of  the  Klondike  gold  fever,  we  renewed 
work  upon  the  map  of  Alaska  which  we  had  in  hand.  ,  We  were 
invited  by  the  Geographical  Society  of  the  Pacific  to  present  our 
views  upon  the  physical  features  and  resources  of  Alaska,  the  routes 
to  the  interior,  extent  and  the  character  of  the  explorations  to  that 
date;  and  also  upon  the  proofs  of  the  claims  of  the  United  States 
to  the  Archipelago  and  the  border  around  it. 

Under  these  circumstances,  with  many  incidental  incentives,  we 
naturally  became  much  interested  in  the  location  of  that  part  of 
the  line  extending  from  Cape  Muzon,  through  the  Portland  Canal, 
and  thence  by  the  eastern  and  northern  limit  of  the  lisiere  to 
Mount  Saint  Elias. 

Some  years  later  we  published  an  account  of  the  map  drawn  for 
us  by  Koh-klux',  the  Chilkaht  chief,  who  had  in  August,  1852, 
gone  down  the  Lewes  River  to  the  Yukon  and  destroyed  the  Hud- 
son's Bay  Company  post,  Fort  Selkirk;  and  who  had  also  gone 
down  the  All-segh'  River  to  the  Pacific;  and  we  have  now  ready 
for  the  press  a  paper  upon  the  glaciers  of  Alaska  as  found  on  the 
old  Russian  charts,  or  described  by  the  old  navigators. 

We  have  been  thus  prolix  to  indicate  that  the  consideration  of 
this  Alaskan  subject  is  not  new  to  us,  nor  a  mere  sentiment.  In 
forty-five  years  of  continuous  official  duty  upon  this  coast,  we  have 
examined  all  the  early  Spanish,  English,  French,  American  and 
Russian  authorities  in  order  to  learn  the  extent  and  locality  of  their 
discoveries  and  give  the  origin  of  the  names  of  capes,  bays,  rivers 


l6  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

and  straits.  These  researches  over  ground  with  which  we  were 
personally  familiar  have  resulted  in  four  editions  of  the  Coast  Pilot 
of  Califortiia^  Oregon  and  Washington;  the  Coast  Pilot  of  Alaska; 
the  Discoveries  and  Explorations  of  the  Spanish  and  English^ 
^539  to  1603;  and  various  investigations  published  by  the 
California  Historical  Society,  the  Geographical  Society  of  the 
Pacific,  etc. 

In  the  present  paper  we  have  re-examined  the  material  about 
Alaska  which  we  have  in  our  possession,  have  overhauled  authori- 
ties for  verification,  and  have  added  more  of  interest.  Whatever 
errors  or  deficiencies  may  be  detected  should  be  ascribed  to  the 
limited  time  at  our  disposal. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


We  propose  to  present  the  materials  we  have  gathered  relative 
to  this  boundary  question  in  the  following  order: 

What  event  unexpectedly  brought  about  the  Conventions  of 
1825  between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  and  between  Russia 
and  Great  Britain  in  relation  to  Alaska  ? 

This  is  followed  by  the  early  history  of  Russian  discovery  on 
the  Northwest  coast  of  America;  the  occupation  of  the  islands 
and  rivers  upon  the  coast;  the  development  of  the  fur  trade;  the 
organization  and  power  of  the  great  fur  company  and  the  evident 
design  of  Russia  to  dominate  the  whole  of  the  North  Pacific. 

These  conditions,  the  intrusive  activity  of  the  American  and 
English  fur  traders,  and  the  illicit  traffic  in  fire-arms,  gunpowder 
and  spirituous  liquors,  would  appear  to  have  led  to  the  proclama- 
tion of  the  Ukase  of  September  4th,  1821,  by  Russia,  and  the 
immediate  renewal  of  the  lease  to  the  Russian  American  Company, 
with  the  right  to  imperial  control  over  the  territories  that  might 
be  acquired.  That  Edict  is  a  very  lengthy  document  of  seventy 
paragraphs,  and  forms  a  code  of  action  for  every  office  of  the  Com- 
pany and  the  Government,  ending  with  the  declaration  that  "the 
commanders  of  ships  of  war  will  receive  orders  to  capture  all 
foreign  vessels  found  in  Russian  waters."  For  the  purpose  of 
elucidation,  we  present  a  few  extracts  with  remarks  thereon. 

The  Ukase  was  inimical  to  every  foreign  trader  and  trading 
company;  it  sought  to  give  Russia  the  control  of  the  North  Pacific 
and  Bering  Sea;  claims  which  the  Governments  of  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  promptly,  energetically  and  successfully 
combated.  We  have  no  further  need  to  refer  to  the  action  of  the 
United  States  in  that  matter,  because  she  made  no  claim  to 
territory  in  that  part  of  the  Northwest. 

With  the  Government  of  Great  Britain  territorial  matters  were 
forced  to  the  front,  although  her  discoveries  were  antedated  by 
Russia  and  by  Spain,  and  she  had  effected  no  occupation  on  that 
coast,  nor  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


1 8  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Great  Britain  had,  therefore,  two  objects  in  view  :  the  first  was 
to  obtain  from  Russia  an  abandonment  of  the  ' '  preposterous  pre- 
tensions ' '  and  ' '  extravagant  assumption  of  maritime  supremacy  ' ' 
of  the  Ukase  without  wounding  the  sensibilities  of  the  Emperor. 
The  United  States  had  been  the  first  in  the  field  and  yet  was  in 
good  rapport  with  Russia.  Great  Britain  had  proposed  to  join 
with  the  United  States  in  pressing  the  common  object,  but  later 
withdrew  because  Mr.  George  Canning  imagined  he  had  discovered 
"a  foregone  understanding  between  Russia  and  the  United  States, 
or  a  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  to  countenance 
and  promote  what  they  knew  to  be  the  desire  of  Russia. ' '  *  Great 
Britain  then  acted  alone  and  proposed  to  more  effectually  hide  the 
revocation  of  the  Ukase  by  a  discussion  of  boundaries  that  occupied 
between  two  and  three  years. 

To  follow  this  matter  in  more  detail,  we  elsewhere  quote  from 
subsequently  published  biographies  and  official  correspondence,  to 
indicate  the  animus  which  determined  the  action  of  Great  Britain. 
Without  such  sources  of  information,  little  can  be  gleaned  from 
the  Conventions  of  1824-25  (the  United  States)  and  1825  (Great 
Britain)  to  show  why  the  latter  Government  made  such  strenuous 
efforts  to  establish  a  boundary  line,  nominally  by  Plenipotentiaries 
of  the  two  Powers,  but  really  and  confessedly  by  the  great  rival 
fur  trading  companies. 

Then  arises  the  question,  what  were  the  available  charts  for  the 
settlement  of  a  boundary  line  on  that  particular  part  of  the  Con- 
tinent where  no  one  of  record  had  ever  penetrated  fifty  miles 
inland;  whose  natives  were  hostile;  whose  streams  were  unknown; 
and  whose  mountain  ranges  might  be  flankers  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  of  the  far  interior  ? 

We  had  been  long  familiar  with  the  charts  of  Vancouver  and 
his  narrative;  we  had  observed  for  latitude  where  he  had,  and  had 
learned  to  respect  his  accuracy  of  work  and  the  truthfulness  of  his 
narrative.  In  his  day  he  was  without  an  equal.  Where  there 
had  been  some  trifling  oversight,  it  could  be  satisfactorily  settled 
by  a  study  of  his  narrative  with  the  charts. 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  papers^  /Spj  :     Volume  IV,  pages  417,  419. 


INTRODUCTORY.  19 

The  internal  evidence  of  the  use  of  his  charts  and  narrative,  in 
the  controversy  leading  to  the  Convention,  is  convincing;  beyond 
that  there  was  no  other  published  chart  of  that  region  by  any 
other  navigator  or  navigators ;  and  the  large  scale  of  his  charts  was 
like  an  open  book  to  all  the  negotiators.  And  happily  for  this 
boundary  dispute  of  to-day,  the  very  object  of  his  voyage  of 
exploration  caused  him  to  examine  every  strait,  canal  or  inlet  that 
penetrated  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America,  from  the  head  of 
Puget  Sound  in  latitude  47°  03'  to  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  beyond 
the  59th  parallel. 

From  his  charts  and  narratives,  and  from  the  details  added  by 
Tebenkof,  with  our  own  observations,  we  are  able  to  present  a 
short  description  of  the  extent  and  physical  features  of  the  Archi- 
pelago; and  later  on  of  Portland  Canal,  and  the  contiguous  waters 
and  adjacent  islands. 

That  brings  the  matter  to  the  date  of  the  Conventions;  and  we 
present  the  texts  of  that  with  the  United  States;  and  that  with 
Great  Britain.  They  are  taken  bodily  from  the  volume  of  Presi- 
dent Cleveland's  message  of  1889.*  We  have  placed  the  French 
and  English  texts  in  parallel  columns,  in  order  that  the  English 
translation  may  readily  be  compared  with  the  French  original;  for 
it  should  be  understood  that  French  was  then  the  diplomatic  lan- 
guage of  Europe,  and  we  believe  that  only  the  French  text  was 
signed,  although  the  translation  carries  the  same  signatures.  At 
any  rate,  the  French  text  governs  in  the  rendering  of  the  meaning 
of  the  Convention. 

In  the  Convention  with  the  United  States,  there  was  only  one 
subject  matter  to  be  settled,  as  we  have  already  stated. 

The  claims  of  the  Ukase  of  1821  are  not  referred  to;  it  was 
simply  an  instrument  for  cementing  more  closely  the  bonds  of 
amity  of  the  two  countries;  for  securing  the  invariable  mainten- 
ance of  a  perfect  concord;  and  for  preventing  the  introduction  of 
fire-arms  and  spirituous  liquors  by  the  traders  among  the  natives. 
Not  a  word  was  introduced  that  could  wound  the  ' '  amour  propre ' ' 
of  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias. 

*  Senate,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146,  50th  Congress,  2nd  Session,  March  2,  1889. 


20  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

In  the  Convention  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  the  same 
object  was  to  be  gained  in  a  similar  manner;  but  to  conceal  this 
more  eflfectuallv,  the  claims  of  Great  Britain  to  territorial  rights 
were  introduced.  This  matter  gradually  changed  from  the  possi- 
bility of  obtaining  the  whole  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  to 
relinquishing  the  right  to  a  single  foothold.  With  the  long  estab- 
lished settlement  of  Sitka  as  the  stronghold  of  the  adjacent  terri- 
tories, the  hopes  and  claims  of  the  British  Ambassador  seem  as 
audacious  as  some  of  the  claims  of  the  Ukase. 

The  French  and  English  texts  are  given  in  parallel  columns. 
The  translation  of  the  French  into  English  is  weak,  and  evidently 
not  made  by  a  navigator,  geographer,  or  military  officer;  and  we 
have  been  constrained  to  make  critical  remarks  upon  some  of  the 
more  important  words  that  have  weight  in  seeking  for  the  right 
interpretation  of  the  subject  matter  at  issue;  such  as  crete,  lisiere, 
sinuosites,  limite,  crique,  etc.  We  have  given  more  particular 
attention  to  the  lisiere  or  coast-strip  of  the  Continent,  because  it 
was  the  point  upon  which  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  would  not 
yield  to  the  long  and  persistent  pressure  of  Great  Britain  ;  and 
which  to-day  is  made  to  play  a  vital  part  in  the  claims  and  con- 
tentions of  Canada. 

In  that  connection,  we  give  an  account  of  Vancouver's  survey 
and  description  of  Portland  Canal,  Observ^atory  Inlet,  Dixon  En- 
trance, and  the  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago. 

From  the  year  of  the  Convention,  1825,  to  1867  the  year  of 
the  ceding  of  Alaska  by  Russia  to  the  United  States,  we  present 
evidence  to  show  that  Russia  was  extremely  jealous  of  her  rights 
in  the  Archipelago,  and  particularly  her  control  of  the  lisiere. 

The  attempt  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1834  to  establish 
a  fortified  trading  post  at  the  north  end  of  Wrangell  Island  had 
been  forestalled  by  the  building  of  Fort  Dionysius,  and  the  brig 
Dryad  was  repelled.  To  this  act  Great  Britain  made  no  efficient 
protest;  it  was  really  an  aflfair  between  the  rival  companies,  but 
the  Russian  Company  possessed  the  imperial  authority  represented 
by  the  Governor  of  Sitka. 

In  this  period  both  companies  were  making  explorations;  the 


INTRODUCTORY.  21 

Russian  working  inland  on  the  Cliilkaht  and  Taku,  as  well  as  on 
the  Yukon  and  Kuskoquim';  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  trying 
to  reach  the  Stakheen  from  the  Mackenzie  and  the  Dease. 

Although  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  had  the  right  to  cross 
the  lisiere  in  either  direction,  they  never  made  any  use  of  the 
Stakheen,  Taku  or  Chilkaht.  In  1862,  the  British  vessel  of  war 
Devastation  asked  permission  of  the  Governor  of  the  territory  to 
visit  the  Stakheen,  and  obtained  it.  In  1863,  the  Russian  corvette 
Rynda  examined  the  Stakheen  to  beyond  the  Little  Canon. 

This  rapid  recitation  of  some  of  the  events  of  forty-tvv^o  years 
brings  us  to  the  Treaty  of  1867,  and  we  premise  by  saying  that  in 
1854  Russia  had  proposed  to  cede  Alaska  to  the  United  States. 

The  text  of  the  treaty  is  given  in  French  and  English  in  parallel 
columns,  as  in  the  exhibits  of  the  two  Conventions.  Therein  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  cedes  to  the  United  States  all  the 
territory  and  sovereignty  actually  possessed  by  him  on  the  Conti- 
nent of  America,  as  established  by  the  Convention  between  Russia 
and  Great  Britain  in  1825. 

Our  strictures  upon  the  translation  of  the  French  text  of  1825 
apply  to  the  English  translation  of  1867.  The  geographical 
description  so  far  as  it  relates  to  the  boundary  line,  and  the  lisiere 
between  Canada  and  Alaska,  is  almost  identical  with  that  of  1825. 
We  elsewhere  note  one  omission  in  the  translation,  although  it 
may  be  an  error  of  the  printer. 

As  a  study  of  the  question  of  boundary  involved  references  to 
charts  and  maps  as  well  as  to  narratives  of  explorers,  we  have 
drawn  up  short  descriptions  of  charts  under  three  headings:  first, 
Russian,  French,  British,  Scotch  and  early  Canadian;  second, 
Canadian  charts  and  maps;  and  third,  American  charts  of  the 
United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  At  the  close  of  each 
series,  we  have  freely  given  our  criticisms  thereon.  Later,  we 
have  suggested  how  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  lisiere  may  be 
drawn  upon  accepted  official  charts;  and  why  a  compromise  broken- 
line  boundary,  indicated  by  permanent  and  easily  recognized  objects, 
and  by  monuments  at  river  crossings,  should  be  adopted  by  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain. 


22  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

We  have  noted  some  of  the  adventurous  contentions  put  forward 
by  Canada. 

We  present  the  views  of  President  Grant  in  1872  upon  the 
advisability  of  settling  the  boundary  line.  He  had  known  of  the 
trouble  that  arose  in  the  San  Juan  Island  difficulty  from  the  trifling 
incident  of  the  killing  of  a  pig;  also  the  anxiety  of  the  Canadian 
Government  for  a  boundary  line  across  the  Stakheen  because  placer 
gold  had  been  discovered  in  the  Cassiar  District.  And  we  note 
the  apparent  indiflference  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States 
until  the  discovery  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  Northwest  Terri- 
tory and  the  value  of  the  pelagic  fur  sealing. 

We  have  criticised  some  of  the  statements  of  Secretary  of  State 
Bayard  in  President  Cleveland's  message  of  May  17th,  1886;  and 
have  also  criticised  and  controverted  the  statements  and  arguments 
of  Major-General  R.  D.  Cameron  and  Dr.  George  M.  Dawson,  of 
the  Government  of  Canada,  as  they  are  presented  in  President 
Cleveland's  message  of  March  2nd,  1889. 

We  have  presented  the  matter  of  the  Modus  Vivendi  of  1899, 
and  after  some  explanation  have  shown,  from  United  States  author- 
ity and  from  examinations  made  for  railroad  projects,  that  the 
crest-line  of  the  mountains  at  the  head  of  the  Chilkaht  River  is 
nearly  fifty  miles  from  the  head  of  the  Chilkaht  Inlet ;  and  that 
the  temporary  boundary  line  across  the  Chilkaht  Valley  has  been 
shifted  from  thirty  miles  to  within  thirteen  miles  of  the  deep  water 
of  Chilkoot  Inlet,  and  thereby  has  yielded  to  Canada  a  strip  of 
valuable  territory  seventeen  miles  wide  by  more  than  twenty  miles 
long. 


WHAT    WAS    THE    REAL    AND    PARAMOUNT    ISSUE 

THAT  BROUGHT  ABOUT  THE   CONVENTIONS 

OF  1824-25  BETWEEN  RUSSIA  AND  THE 

UNITED  STATES,  AND  OF  1825 

BETWEEN  RUSSIA  AND 

GREAT  BRITAIN. 


The  Convention  of  1824-25  between  Russia  and  the  United 
States  declares  the  cause  to  be  the  "wishing  to  cement  the  bonds 
of  amity  which  unite  them,  and  to  secure  between  them  the 
invariable  maintenance  of  a  perfect  concord. ' ' 

The  Convention  of  1825  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain 
declares  that  the  two  countries  are  ' '  desirous  of  drawing  still 
closer  the  Ties  of  good  Understanding  and  Friendship  which  unite 
them,  by  means  of  an  Agreement  which  may  settle,  upon  a  basis  of 
reciprocal  convenience,  difierent  points  connected  with  the  Com- 
merce, Navigation,  and  Fisheries  of  their  Subjects  on  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  as  well  as  the  limits  of  their  respective  Possessions  on  the 
North  West  Coast  of  America. ' ' 

These  statements  indicate  that  the  reasons  given  in  the  Conven- 
tion with  the  United  States  are  not  identical  with  those  given  in 
the  Convention  with  Great  Britain. 

The  essential  point  at  issue  between  the  United  States  and 
Russia  may  be  partially  surmised  from  Article  I,  wherein  the 
agreement  states  that  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  the  high  contract- 
ing Powers  shall  not  be  disturbed  or  restrained  either  in  navigation 
or  in  fishing  or  in  resorting  to  unoccupied  points  for  purposes  of 
trading  with  the  natives,  under  certain  restrictions;  and  that  the 
United  States  shall  not  form  any  establishment  upon  the  North- 
west Coast  of  iVmerica,  nor  in  the  islands  adjacent  thereto  north 
of  54°  40',  Furthermore,  the  trading  ships  of  both  powers  were 
granted  permission  for  a  period  of  ten  years  to  trade,  without 
hindrance,  in  the  interior  seas,  gulfs,  harbors  and  creeks  of  the 
Archipelago  Alexander. 


24  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

Two  points  are  presented  in  the  Convention  of  1S25  between 
Russia  and  Great  Britain.  Article  I  simply  announces  that  the 
subjects  of  the  two  Powers  shall  not  be  troubled  or  molested  in  any 
part  of  the  ocean,  commonly  called  the  Pacific  Ocean,  either  in 
navigating  the  same,  in  fishing  therein,  or  in  landing  at  unoccu- 
pied points  ol  the  coast  to  trade  with  the  natives.  Paragraph  2 
declares  British  subjects  shall  not  land  where  there  may  be  a 
Russian  Establishment  without  permission  of  the  Governor  or 
Commandant;  and  that  Russians  shall  not  land  at  any  British 
Establishment  on  the  Northwest  Coast. 

Thus  far  the  essential  point  at  issue  between  Russia  and  Great 
Britain  can  only  be  surmised  when  taken  and  compared  with  the 
Convention  between  Russia  and  the  United  States. 

There  was  evidently  some  common  cause,  hidden  by  courteous 
phraseology,  which  may  be  sought  in  preceding  acts  of  either  of 
the  Governments,  or  from  explanations  furnished  by  the  records  of 
persons  officially  engaged  in  the  transactions. 

The  primary  object  which  led  to  the  Convention  of  1825 
between  Russia  and  Great  Britain  was  the  determination  of  the 
latter  Government  to  obtain  from  Russia  the  ' '  disavowal  or  quali- 
fication" of  the  Ukase  which  was  proclaimed  in  1821.*  That 
Ukase  claimed  for  Russian  vessels  the  sole  right  to  navigate 
and  carry  on  the  fur  trade  along  the  shores  of  the  North  Pacific 
for  a  distance  of  100  geographical  miles  seaward. 

That  object  was  to  be  secured  in  such  a  manner  as  not  to  lessen 
or  wound  the  dignity  of  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias;  and  Sir 
Charles  Bagot,  the  British  Ambassador  at  St.  Petersburg,  was  in- 
structed by  the  Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Office,  Mr.  George  Can- 
ning (July  1 2th,  1823),  to  "endeavour  to  draw  from  the  Russian 
Government  a  proposal  of  their  terms. "  f  In  the  negotia- 
tions and  in  the  instructions  to  the  British  Ambassador,  one 
phase  of  the  question  was  clearly  established;  that  the  English  cared 
little  about  the  line  on  the  Continent  if  they  could  obtain  free  transit 
to  and  from  the  Pacific  by  the  deep  water  channels  of  the  Archipel- 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Volume  IV,  page  416. 

■\  Fnr  Seal  Arbitration  Papers :     1893:    Volume  IV,  page  405. 


THE    PARAMOUNT   ISSUE.  25 

ago  Alexauder.  They  had  no  claim  by  right  of  discovery  or  occu- 
pation to  any  part  of  the  coast,  save  that  doubtful  one  to  Friendly 
Cove  at  Nootka  Sound,  in  latitude  49°  35',  on  Vancouver  Island; 
and  even  that  claim  was  based  upon  the  wretched  demand  upon  the 
Spanish  Government  by  Meares  (1789),  who  had  been  trading  on 
the  coast  under  Portuguese  colors.  The  difficulty  with  Spain  was 
settled  by  the  Convention  of  January  nth,  1794,  at  Madrid,  which 
provided  that  after  the  preliminaries  had  been  complied  with,  the 
' '  British  flag  was  to  be  raised  as  a  sign  of  possession,  and  then  the 
officers  of  the  two  Crowns  should  retire  respectively  to  their  people 
from  the  said  port  of  Nootka."  (Begg,  page  83.)  Great  Britain 
and  Spain  left  the  field  of  occupation. 

The  "secondary  consideration"  was  to  secure  aline  of  demarca- 
tion between  the  Russian  possessions  and  those  claimed  by  Great 
Britain.  Upon  this  matter,  Mr.  George  Canning  has  written,  ' '  It 
is  not^  on  our  part,  essentially  a  negotiation  about  limits  •  *  *  * 
we  negotiate  about  territory  to  cover  the  remonstrance  upon 
principle."  * 

It  is  this  subordinate  consideration,  now  known  as  the  Alaska 
Boundary  Question,  that  alone  occupies  our  attention.  For  sixty 
years  the  terms  of  the  resultant  Convention  of  1825  ^^*i  been  ac- 
cepted as  explicit  and  satisfactory;  but  since  1885,  contentions  have 
been  made  in  order  to  nullify  its  provisions. 

We  have  elsewhere  presented  in  some  detail  proofs  of  the  real 
and  paramount  object  of  the  Convention;  and  the  rights  of  Russia 
based  on  discovery  and  continuous  occupation  until  1867.  We 
have  made  strictures  upon  the  English  translation  of  the  French 
text  of  the  Convention;  have  collected  some  information  of  the  in- 
side history  of  the  controversy  to  elucidate  points  at  issue;  described 
maps  and  charts  of  different  origin  that  bear  upon  the  question,  and 
have  not  hesitated  to  make  strictures  upon  the  written  opinions  of 
officials  and  writers. 

We  have  quoted  from  official  correspondence  the  proof  that  the 
demands  of  Great  Britain  were  made  only  after  and  upon  the  advice 


*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Volume  IV,  pages  448,  449. 


26  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

of  the  Governors  or  Managers  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.  The 
Russian  American  Company  had  imperial  authority,  and  without 
doubt  exercised  upon  the  Russian  Government  the  full  measure  of 
their  desires. 

It  was  a  conflict  between  the  two  great  companies. 


THE  EARLY  EXPLORATIONS   OF   THE   RUSSIANS   IN 
THE  NORTH  PACIFIC;    THEIR  DISCOVERIES 
AND  OCCUPATION  OF  THE  LANDS   DIS- 
COVERED.    INTENTION  TO  CON- 
TROL THE  NORTH  PACIFIC. 


The  indomitable  courage  and  heroic  perseverance  of  the  old 
Spanish  navigators  of  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America, — Ulloa, 
Cabrillo,  Ferrelo,  Vizcaino  and  Aguilar,  1 539-1603,  was  followed 
by  166  years  of  apparent  apathy.  The  irruption  of  that  unique 
freebooter,  Francis  Drake,  upon  the  coasts  of  Oregon  and  Cali- 
fornia in  1579,  and  of  Cavendish  ten  years  later  oflf  Lower  Cali- 
fornia, did  not  arouse  Spain  to  the  possibilities  of  the  farther 
Northwest.  Spain  and  New  Spain  were  apparently  satisfied  with 
their  possessions  and  traffic  of  the  Philippines. 

In  that  long  interval  a  new  power  had  appeared  on  the  unknown 
Pacific.  In  1728  Russia  sent  one  of  her  best  and  most  energetic 
navigators  across  the  dreary  thousands  of  miles  of  Siberia  to  out- 
line the  coast  of  Asia  towards  the  north.  The  success  of  Bering 
in  discovering  the  northeast  limit  of  Asia  prompted  Peter  the 
Great  to  accept  Bering's  later  proposition  to  sail  eastward  from 
Kamchatka  to  the  Continent  of  America.  With  prophetic  vision, 
the  Tzar  saw  new  empires  around  the  North  Pacific.  No  other 
enterprise  can  be  compared  in  greatness  and  in  sacrifice  with  the 
gigantic  undertakings  loaded  upon  Bering. 

Enough  for  our  purpose  to  know  that  the  two  vessels  of  Bering' s 
exploration  of  1741  discovered  the  Continent  of  America  at  widely 
different  points  within  a  day  or  two  of  each  other.*     The  second 

*  Vitus  Bering:  The  Discoverer  of  Bering  Strait.  By  Peter  Lauridsen,  Member 
of  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Danish  Geographical  Society;  Editor  of  Jens  Munk's 
Navigatio  Septentrionalis.  Revised  by  the  Author  and  Translated  from  the  Danish 
by  Julius  E.  Olson,  Assistant  Professor  of  Scandinavian  Languages  in  the  University 
of  Wisconsin.  *  *  *  Chicago:  S.  C.  Griggs  &  Company,  1889. 

The  Tracks  and  Landfalls  of  Bering  and  Chirikof  oti  the  Northwest  Coast  of 
America.  From  the  Point  of  Their  Separation  in  Latitude  49°  10',  Longitude 
176°  40'  West  to  Their  Return  to  the  Same  Meridian.  June,  July,  August,  Septem- 
ber, October,  1741.  George  Davidson,  President  of  the  Geographical  Society  of 
the  Pacific.  (Private  publication. )  Put  to  print,  October  31,  1901.  Also  published 
in  Transactions  and  Proceedings  of  the  Geographical  Society  of  the  Pacific.  Vol- 
ume I,  Series  II,  October  31,  1901. 


28  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

in  command,  Alexis  Chirikof,  in  the  S^.  Paul,  made  the  coast  on 
the  15th  of  July,  1741,  in  latitude  55'  21'  by  estimation.  From 
his  position  he  could  see  the  high  land  of  the  coast  to  the  south- 
ward at  a  distance  of  forty-five  or  fifty  nautical  miles.  Bering, 
who  after  their  separation  steered  farther  to  the  northward  than 
Chirikof,  made  the  landfall  of  Mount  Saint  Elias  on  the  i6th  of 
July ;  and  continuing  to  the  north  and  westward,  anchored  under 
the  northwest  shoulder  of  Kayak  Island  in  latitude  60°  00'  on 
the  20th,  and  landed  thereon.  Chirikof  coasted  to  the  northward 
to  the  latitude  of  58°  21',  under  Mount  Fairweather,  and  thence 
sailed  almost  directly  west  under  the  shadow  of  Mount  Saint  Elias  to 
the  w^estern  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Alaska.  The  vessels  unknown 
to  each  other,  steered  to  the  southwest  and  west,  in  sight  of  Kadiak 
Island.  Bering  spent  a  week  surveying  the  Shumagin  group.  He 
subsequently  died  on  Bering  Island. 

Thus  these  two  vessels  secured  to  Russia  the  Right  of  Discovery 
for  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America,  from  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Dixon  Entrance  to  the  Peninsula  of  Alaska,  and  thence  along 
the  chain  of  the  Aleutian  Islands;  a  total  length  of  2150  nautical 
miles. 

This  right  of  discovery  was  fortified  in  a  very  few  years  by  the 
occupation  of  Bering  and  Copper  Islands,  and  the  occupation  of 
the  Aleutian  Islands  and  part  of  the  main  coast  in  so  far  as  trading 
thereto  could  give  it;  and  subsequently,  by  the  ofiicial  occupation 
by  ofiicers  of  the  Government,*  and  the  establishment  of  stations 

*  Voyages  from  Asia  to  Atnerica,  for  Completitig  the  Discoveries  of  the  North 
West  Coast  of  America.  To  which  is  prefixed  a  Summary  of  the  Voyages  made  by 
the  Russians  on  the  Frozen  Sea  in  Search  of  a  North  East  Passage.  Serving  as  an 
Explanation  of  a  Map  of  the  Russian  Discoveries,  published  by  the  Academy  of 
Sciences  at  Petersburgh.  Translated  from  the  High  Dutch  of  S.  Muller,  of  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Petersburgh.  With  the  Addition  of  Three  New  Maps:  i.  A 
copy  of  part  of  the  Japanese  map  of  the  World.  2.  A  copy  of  De  Lisle's  and  Bauche's 
fictitious  Map.  And  3.  A  large  Map  of  Canada,  extending  to  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
containing  the  New  Discoveries  made  by  the  Russians  and  French.  By  Thomas 
Jefferys,  Geographer  to  His  Majesty.  London  :  Printed  by  T.  Jefiferj^s,  the  Comer 
of  St.  Martin's-Lane,  Charing  Cross,  1761. 

Account  of  the  Russiafi  Discoveries  between  Asia  and  America.  To  which  are 
added,  the  Conquest  of  Siberia  and  the  History  of  the  Transactions  and  Commerce 
between  Russia  and  China.     By  William  Coxe,  A.  M.,  Fellow  of  King's  College, 


THE   RIGHT   OF    DISCOVERY.  29 

for  the  control  of  traffic,  and  of  the  natives  long  before  the  advent 
of  the  Spanish  explorers  in  1774  and  of  Captain  James  Cook  in 
1778. 

Russian  merchants  and  fur  traders  and  the  Russian  Government 
found  a  great  source  of  wealth  in  the  fur  of  the  sea  otter  then 
filling  every  inlet  and  bay,  and  swarming  along  the  coast  south- 
ward beyond  San  Francisco  and  San  Diego. 

We  may  not  know  the  early  intentions  or  plans  of  Russia  to 
control  the  North  Pacific,  save  from  her  voyages  in  the  Western 
Pacific  as  far  south  as  Japan,  and  on  the  American  coast  as  far 
south  as  Lower  California;  and  the  occupation  of  certain  localities 
in  California  and  the  Hawaiian  Islands. 

La  Perouse  came  upon  the  Northwest  Coast,  in  sight  of  Mount 
Saint  Elias,  on  the  23rd  of  June,  1786,*  met  with  disaster  in 
Lituya  Bay,  and  thence  sailed  along  the  outer  coast  to  the  south- 
eastward.    He  did  not  examine  the  great  Archipelgo. 

In  1768  Spain  awoke  to  the  possibilities  of  the  Northwest  Coast; 
and  in  1769  she  advanced  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  which  was 
in  a  few  years  recognized  as  the  port  to  be  fortified  and  held 
against  all  encroachments  by  foreign  powders,  f 

Cambridge,  and  Chaplain  to  his  Grace  the  Duke  of  Marlborough.  London  : 
Printed  by  J.  Nichols,  For  T.  Cadell,  in  the  Strand,  M.DCC.LXXX. 

Translation  of  Title  :  ChroJiological  History  of  the  Discovery  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  or  Achievements  of  the  Russian  Met  chants  ;  with  an  appendix  of  historical 
data  of  the  Fur  Trade.  St.  Petersburg,  printed  by  N.  Gretch,  1823.  The  preface 
shows  that  it  was  written  by  Basil  Bergh,  at  St.  Petersburg,  January,  1823. 

*  Voyage  de  la  Perouse  autour  du  Monde,  publid  conformement  au  Decret  du  22 
Avril  1791,  et  r6dig6,  par  M.  L.  A.  Milet-Mureau,  Gdn^ral  de  Brigade  dans  le 
Corps  de  Genie,  Directeur  des  Fortifications,  Ex-Constituant,  Membre  de  plusieurs 
Soci6t^s  Ivittdraires  de  Paris.  A  Paris,  de  I'Imprimerie  de  la  Republique.  An 
V.  (1797)     (Four  volumes  quarto  and  large  atlas.) 

t  The  Supreme  Government  of  Spain  being  informed  of  the  repeated  efforts  made 
by  a  Foreign  Nation  upon  the  northern  coasts  of  California  with  \'iews  in  no  wise 
favorable  to  the  Monarchy  and  to  its  interests,  the  King  commands  the  Marquis  de 
Croix,  his  Viceroy  and  Captain-General  in  New  Spain,  that  he  take  effective 
measures  for  the  protection  of  that  part  of  his  Dominions  from  all  invasion  and 
insult. 

Translated  from  Extracto  de  Noticias  del  Puerto  de  Monterrey  de  la  Missioti  y 
Presidio  que  se  han  establecido  en  el  con  la  denoniinacion  de  San  Carlos,  y  del 
Sucesso  de  las  dos  Expediciones  de  Mar,  y  Tierra  que  a  este  fin  se  dcspacharon  en 
el  ano  proximo  anterior  de  1769,  etc. 


3©  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

From  1774  to  1794,  the  Spaniards  were  indefatigable  in  their 
voyages  of  discovery  through  that  extensive  and  unequalled  system 
of  interior  channels,  from  Olympia,  in  latitude  47°  03',  to  the 
head  of  Lynn  Canal  in  59°  29'. 

From  the  time  of  Cook  to  that  of  Vancouver,  there  was  a  lull 
in  English  exploration  upon  the  coast;  but  English  fur  traders, 
English  under  Portuguese  colors,  and  American  fur  traders,  came 
soon  after  Cook  and  bartered  directly  with  the  natives  for  the  sea 
otter  and  other  furs.  Of  course,  they  came  in  conflict  with  the 
Russian  fur  traders  who  had  carried  their  business  to  the  main- 
land. 

While  Baranof  was  the  chief  of  the  Shelikof-Golikof  Company, 
with  Kadiak  Island  as  the  headquarters  of  all  their  operations,  he 
found  the  hunting  grounds  to  the  eastward  were  being  profitably 
visited  by  the  English  and  Americans.  By  the  Ukase  of  Septem- 
ber, 1799,  the  Russian  American  Company  was  evolved  from  the 
United  American  Company,  and  Baranof  was  chosen  the  chief 
manager.*  He  determined  to  quit  Kadiak  and  establish  a  new 
center  of  operations  in  Sitka  Sound.  This  was  New  Archangel, 
about  six  miles  north  of  the  present  site  of  Sitka  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  former. 

Thenceforward,  through  his  exceptional  shrewdness,  vigor  and 
administrative  ability,  Baranof  was  more  than  a  match  for  the  fur 
traders  from  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain;  and  with  the 
Government  close  behind  the  Company,  Russia  held  firmly  to  her 
rights  of  discovery,  occupation,  assertion  and  aggression.  Each 
year  new  stations  were  established;  explorations  were  carried  along 
the  coast  and  into  the  interior  by  the  rivers.  He  adopted  methods 
which  foreign  traders  could  not  do.  He  secured  large  numbers  of 
the  native  sea  otter  hunters  of  Kadiak  and  the  Aleutian  Islands, 
and  under  Russian  direction  they  made  trips  along  the  coast  with 
fifty  or  more  bidarkas,  or  were  transported  long  distances  in  the 
vessels  of  the  Company. 

*  Biography  of  Alexander  Andreievitch  Baranof,  Governor  General  of  the 
Russian  Colonies  in  Ainerica,  by  Kiryll  Khlebnikof,  St.  Petersburg.  Navy 
Printing  Office,  1853.     (Title  translated. ) 


THE    PROJECTS   OF    BARANOF.  3 1 

As  a  point  of  direct  control  of  the  eight  thousand  miles  of  shore 
line  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  the  selection  of  Sitka  was  a 
master  stroke;  and  we  can  readily  understand  that  Governor 
Baranof  looked  anxiously  toward  the  coast  of  California  as  an  un- 
touched sea  otter  region,  and  San  Francisco  as  a  point  of  supply 
of  provisions  in  case  the  annual  ship  from  home  should  not  ar- 
rive. Furthermore,  there  seems  to  have  been  a  deeper  purpose  ih 
securing  a  foothold  near  San  Francisco,  not  directly  controlled  by 
the  Spaniards. 

The  Spaniards  had  "taken  possession  "  of  many  places  along  the 
whole  seaboard  from  San  Francisco  to  Cook's  Inlet,  but  had  made 
no  assertion  of  holding  any  part  save  at  Friendly  Cove  in  Nootka 
Sound. 

In  October,  1803,  Governor  Baranof  joined  with  the  American 
Captain  O'Kane  commanding  the  ship  Boston,  to  outfit  her  for  sea 
otter  hunting  to  the  southeastward.  She  left  Kadiak  for  the  Co- 
lumbia River,  but  could  not  enter;  is  reported  to  have  hunted  in 
San  Francisco  Bay;  visited  San  Diego;  and  hunted  sea  otter  at 
Port  San  Quentin,  Lower  California,  in  latitude  30°  24',  until 
March,  1804.  Tebenkof  speaks  very  circumstantially  of  a  Russian 
vessel  hunting  sea  otter  in  San  Quentin  in  1805,  but  the  Spanish 
and  Mexican  archives  in  the  United  States  Surveyor  General's 
office  in  San  Francisco,  place  it  in  1804.  '^^^  Spaniards  forced 
her  to  leave. 

In  1806  the  Russian  Chamberlain  Nicolai  Petrovich  Resanof,  in 
the  American  ship /uno  (which  he  had  purchased),  sailed  for  San 
Francisco;  for  two  weeks  he  tried  to  enter  the  Columbia  River;* 

*  Voyages  and  Travels  in  Various  Parts  of  the  World,  during  the  years  1803, 
1804,  1805,  1806,  and  1807.  By  G.  H.  Von  Langsdorff,  Aulic  Counsellor  to  His 
Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Russia,  Consul-General  at  the  Brazils,  Knight  of  the  Order 
of  St.  Anne,  and  Member  of  Various  Academies  and  learned  Societies.  Carlisle: 
Printed  by  George  Philips,  and  for  sale  in  Philadelphia,  by  M.  Carey  &  Son, 
Abraham  Small,  and  Moses  Thomas;  in  New  York,  by  Kirk  &Mercein;  in  Boston, 
by  Wells  &  Lilly;  in  Baltimore,  by  J.  &  T.  Vance;  in  Richmond,  by  Fitzwhylsonn 
&  Potter,  and  Peter  Cottom.     1817.     i  vol.,  8  vo. 

The  German  Edition  :  Bemerkungen  auf  einer  Reise  uni  die  Welt  in  den 
Jahren  1803  bis  1807  von  G.  H.  von  Langsdorflf,  Kaiserlich-Russischen  Hofrath, 
Ritter   des   St.  Annen-Ordens  zweiter  Classe,  Mitglied  meherer  Akademien  und 


32  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

he  failed  to  enter  Humboldt  Bay,  and  reached  San  Francisco, 
where  he  spent  two  months  negotiating  with  Governor  Arrillaga 
at  Monterey,  and  Comandante  Arguello  at  San  Francisco,  for  pro- 
visions for  Sitka.  In  1806,  an  American  ship,  with  an  American 
crew,  under  the  American  captain,  Jonathan  Winship,  made  a 
contract  with  the  Russian  American  Company,  and  fitted  out  with 
over  fifty  bidarkas  and  more  than  one  hundred  Aleutes,  for  a  sea 
otter  voyage  to  California.  She  entered  Humboldt  Bay,  and  sub- 
sequently hunted  the  coast  as  far  south  as  Cerros  Island  in  latitude 
28'  02'.*  In  October,  1808,  the  Company's  schooner  Nikolai  was 
wrecked  at  the  mouth  of  Gray's  Harbor,  latitude  46°  54'. 

In  December,  1808,  the  Neva^  under  Captain  Hagemeister,  with 
a  crew  of  seventy-five  men,  was  dispatched  from  Sitka  to  the 
Hawaiian  Islands  with  instructions  to  found  a  colony  there. 
Bancroft  (Page  491  «.),  says  a  copy  of  Baranof  s  instructions  has 
been  preserved  in  the  Sitka  Archives. 

In  181 1,  the  Russians  established  a  block  house,  and  a  ware- 
house on  the  east  side  of  Bodega  Head,  at  the  entrance  to  the 
small  bay,  latitude  38°  18'.  There  was  no  immediate  back  coun- 
try for  wood,  water  or  cultivation,  but  it  was  a  fair  point  for  the 
pursuit  of  the  sea  otter,  and  for  the  refuge  of  small  vessels. 
Against  Spanish  protest  they  remained  under  Russian  control  until 
1841.      (We  visited  the  dilapidated  buildings  in  1853.) 

The  Bodega  location  was  too  cramped,  and  in  181 2,  the  Rus- 
sians selected  and  built  a  stockade  upon  the  rocky  faced  terrace 
overlooking  the  contracted  anchorage  of  Fort  Ross;  latitude 
38°  31'.  Here  the  stockade  was  pierced  with  embrasures,  furnished 
with  carronades,  etc. ,  etc. ;  barracks  and  storehouses  were  erected, 
with  an  arsenal,  church  and  workshop.  A  Director  or  Governor 
and  officers  controlled  the  establishment.     At  one  time  there  were 

gelehrten  Gesellschafteu.  (F.  W.)  Mit  acht  und  zwanzig  Kupfern  und  einem 
Musikblatt.  Frankfort  am  Mayn,  Im  Verlag  bey  Friedrich  Wilmans.  1812.  (Two 
volumes,  quarto.) 

*  The  Discovery  of  Humboldt  Bay,  California.  Professor  George  Davidson, 
Ph.D.,  vSc.D.,  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Surve}^  President  Geographical 
Society  of  the  Pacific,  etc.,  etc.,  Geographical  Society  of  the  Paciiic  Publications. 
San  Francisco,  California,  1891.     Put  to  press  April  20,  1891. 


RUSSIANS   ON   THE   CALIFORNIA   COAST.  33 

eight  hundred  natives  of  Kadiak  with  their  bidarkas  for  sea  otter 
hunting.  From  this  station  the  Russians  established  a  hunting 
station  on  the  Southeast  Farallon,  twenty-three  and  one-half  geo- 
graphical miles  broad  off  the  Golden  Gate;  and  on  some  of  the 
islands  off  Santa  Barbara.  * 

The  Russian  navigator,  Kotzebue,  visited  the  Northwest  Coast, 
and  reached  the  Coast  of  California  in  1824.!  He  visited  the  Bay 
of  San  Francisco,  and  asserts  (Page  112),  that  "the  whole  of  the 
northern  part  of  the  bay,  which  does  not  properly  belong  to  Cali- 
fornia, but  is  assigned  by  geographers  to  New  Albion,  has  hitherto 
remained  unvisited  by  voyagers,  and  little  known  even  to  Span- 
iards residing  in  the  country."  On  page  123,  he  continues:  "In 
order  that  the  Russians  might  not  extend  their  dominion  to  the 
northern  shore  of  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco,  the  Spaniards  imme- 
diately founded  the  Missions  of  St.  Gabriel  and  St.  Francisco 
Solano.  It  is  a  great  pity  that  we  were  not  beforehand  with  them. 
The  advantages  of  possessing  this  beautiful  bay  are  incalculable, 
especially  as  we  have  no  harbour  but  the  bad  one  at  Bodega  or  Port 
Romanzow."     (See  page  no  for  similar  sentiments.) 

"The  founder  and  then  Commander  of  the  Fortress  of  Ross,  a 
man  of  penetration  and  not  easily  frightened,  *  *  *  said  that 
he  had  at  the  command  of  his  superiors  settled  in  this  region, 
which  had   not    previously  been    in  the  possession  of  any  other 

*  Narrative  of  a  Voyage  to  the  Pacific  and  Beering's  Sttait,  to  Co-operate  with 
the  Polar  Expeditions :  performed  in  His  Maiesty's  ship  Blossom,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Captain  F.  W.  Beechey,  R.N.,  F.R.S.,  &c,  in  the  years  1825,  26,  27,  28. 
Published  by  Authority  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty.  A  new 
edition.  In  two  volumes.  London:  Henry  Colburn  and  Richard  Bentley.  New 
Burlington  Street.   1831.     Volume  II,  page  67. 

Life  in  California  during  a  residence  of  several  years  in  that  Territory  *  *  * 
by  Alfred  Robinson  *  *  *  San  Francisco  :  William  Doxey,  Publisher,  1891. 
(One  volume  duodecimo,  284  pages.     See  page  246  et  seq.) 

■\  A  New  Voyage  round  the  World,  in  the  years  1823,  24,  25,  and  26,  by  Otto  von 
Kotzebue,  Post  Captain  in  the  Russian  Imperial  Navy.  In  two  volumes.  London: 
Henry  Colburn  and  Richard  Bentley,  New  Burlington  Street.  1830.  See  Volume  II. 

The  German  edition  isNetce  Reise  um  die  Welt,  in  den  Jahren  1823,  24,  25  und  26. 
Von  Otto  von  Kotzebue,  Russisch-Kaiserlischem  Flott-Capitain  und  Ritter.  *  *  * 
Weimar,  1830.    *  *  *  St.  Petersburg.    (Two  volumes.    Volume  II,  page  64  et  seq.) 


34  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

power  *  *  *  and  therefore  he  would  yield  to  no  such  un- 
founded pretensions  as  that  now  advanced  by  the  Spaniards,  but 
should  always  be  ready  to  resist  force  by  force."     (Page  122.) 

In  1827,  Captain  Beechey  met  at  Monterey  a  Russian  vessel 
belonging  to  the  ' '  Russian  American  Fur  Company ' '  that  was 
employed  in  trading  between  Sitka,  Bodega,  and  several  ports  in 
California,  and  carrying  supplies  to  the  Russian  settlements  north- 
ward. She  was  commanded  by  an  officer  of  the  Russian  Navy. 
There  were  several  of  these  vessels  on  this  coast  carrying  guns  and 
wearing  pendants.     (Volume  II,  Page  87.) 

But  beyond  these  indications  of  purpose  are  the  two  positions 
taken  by  Russia  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands.  In  181 5,  the  Russians 
built  a  stone  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  River  Waimea,  on  the  south- 
west side  of  Kauai  Island,  ostensibly  to  support  King  Kaumuali 
against  Kameahmeah.  The  Hawaiian  chart  of  the  same  island 
also  shows  the  ruins  of  a  stockade  at  the  east  side  of  the  Bay  of 
Hanalei  on  the  north  coast.  In  181 6,  the  Russian,  Dr.  SchefFer, 
attempted  "to  raise  the  Island  of  O  Tuai  against Tameamea,  in  the 
hope  of  annexing  it  to  the  Empire  of  Russia. ' '  Kotzebue  declares 
he  was  insane,  and  that  ' '  the  absurd  design  was  entirel}^  discoun- 
tenanced by  the  Emperor  Alexander."  Then  he  charges  that 
England  had  probably  secretly  harbored  such  a  design.  * 

There  were  many  minor  but  effective  movements  made  by  the 
Russian  American  Company  to  explore  and  occupy  the  coast  of 
the  North  Pacific;  Golovnin  and  Ricord  in  1807-09,  and  1811-14, 
toward  and  in  Japan;  Taraikanow  on  the  Northwest  Coast,  1808; 
Wassiljew,  Baranof  Island  in  1809;  Ricord  and  Chlebnikow, 
Shelikof  Strait,  1810;  and  in  1817-18,  Golovnin  made  two  voyages 
in  the  frigate  Kamschatka  with  Liitke,  Wrangell  and  Etolin, 
visiting  the  Commander  Islands,  Kadiak,  Sitka,  Fort  Ross, 
Bodega  and  Monterey,  f 

*  Kotzebue.     Volume  II,  page  215. 

t  Beitrag  zur  Kenntniss  der  orographischen  und  geognostischen  Beschaffenheit 
der  Nord-West-Kiiste  Amerikas  mit  den  Angliegenden  inseln.  Von  Dr.  C. 
Grewingk,(  Aus  den  Verhandlungen  der  Mineralogischen  Gesellschaft  zu  St.  Peters- 
burg, fiir  die  Jahre,  1848-49,  besonders  abgedruckt.)  (Hierzu  Karten  No.  I-III, 
zwei  dergleichen  im  Text,  und  Tafel  IV-VII.)  St.  Petersburg.  Gedruckt  bey 
Karl  Kray.    1850.     See  page  237,  et  seq. 


RUSSIAN    EXPLORATIONS.  35 

All  these  operations  might  be  laid  largely  or  wholly  to  the 
aggressiveness  of  the  Russian  American  Company,  were  there  not 
other  and  stronger  proofs  that  the  Russian  Government  was  making 
unusual  eflforts  to  assert  its  power  in  the  North  Pacific. 

In  1802,  the  Government  hastily  ordered  an  ''expedition  for  the 
Northwest  Coast  of  America,"  under  Captain  Krusenstern  of  the 
Imperial  Navy;  but  it  was  not  ready  to  sail  until  1803,  when  the 
plans  were  somewhat  changed,  and  the  principal  seat  of  exploration 
was  in  the  North  Pacific  from  latitude  31°  at  Nagasaki,  Japan,  to 
Petropaulski,  Kamchatka,  latitude  52"  53',  and  thence  round  the 
world,  during  the  years  1 803-1 806.*  Krusenstern  did  not  reach 
the  Alaskan  coast,  but  Captain-Lieutenant  Lisiansky,  commanding 
the  Neva^  was  detached  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  and  sailed  direct 
to  Kadiak  Island,  and  thence  to  Sitka,  to  relieve  the  Russians 
threatened  by  the  Sitka  Indians,  August,  1804. 

Again  in  181 5,  Captain  Kotzebue  of  the  Imperial  Navy  (who 
had  sailed  with  Krusenstern  as  a  Cadet),  commenced  a  voyage 
through  the  South  Sea,  and  reached  as  far  north  as  the  Arctic  on 
the  American  coast  at  Kotzebue  Sound;  thence  through  the 
Aleutian  Islands  to  California,  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  etc. ;  this 
voyage  lasted  until  i8i8.t 

At  this  period  the  twenty  years'  term  of  the  Russian  American 
Company  was  nearing  its  close.  It  had  been  the  outgrowth  of 
rival  companies,  and  the  Government  appreciated  the  necessity  for 

*  Voyage  Roimd  the  World,  in  the  years  1803,  1804,  1805,  &  1806,  by  order  of 
His  Imperial  Majesty  Alexander  the  First,  on  board  the  ships  Nadesha  and  Neva, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  A.  J.  von  Krusenstern,  of  the  Imperial  Navy.  In 
two  volumes.  Translated  from  the  original  German  by  Richard  Belgrave 
Hoppner,  Esq.  Les  Marins  ^crivent  mal,  mais  avec  assez  de  candeur. — De  Brosses. 
London  :  Printed  by  C.  Roworth,  Bell-yard,  Temple  Bar;  for  John  Murray,  Book- 
seller to  the  Admiralty  and  the  Board  of  Longitude,  50  Albermarle  Street.  1813. 
(Folio.) 

^  Entdeckungs-Reise  in  die  Siid-See  und  nach  der  Bering s-Strasse  zur  Erfor- 
schung  einer  norddstlichen  Durchfahrt.  Untemommen  in  den  Jahren  1815,  1816, 
1817  und  1818,  auf  Kosten  Sr.  Erlaucht  des  Herm  Reichs-Kanzlers  Grafen 
RumanzoflF  auf  dem  SchifTe  Rurick  unter  dem  Befehle  des  Lieutenants  der 
Russisch — Kaiserlichen  Marine  Otto  von  Kotzebue.  *  *  *  Weimar,  Verlegt 
von  den  Gebriidern  Hoffmann.  1821.  (This  edition  is  in  three  parts  bound 
together,  small  quarto ;  with  plans  and  plates.) 


36  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

placing  the  fur  trade  under  a  single  powerful  organization,  in 
which  members  of  the  Imperial  family,  and  the  high  nobility, 
were  interested.  The  Ukase  of  1799  invested  it  with  special  and 
exclusive  privileges  for  a  period  of  twenty  years  on  the  shores  of 
Northwest  America,  between  latitude  55°  north  and  Bering  Strait, 
on  the  Aleutian  Islands,  the  Kuril  Islands  and  the  islands  in  Ber- 
ing Sea.  Under  its  charter  it  paid  no  direct  duty  to  the  Govern- 
ment. It  had  exclusive  right  to  all  the  products  of  the  chase  and 
of  the  commerce  of  the  regions  mentioned;  and  it  was  especially 
authorized  to  take  possession  on  behalf  of  the  Imperial  Government 
of  newly  discovered  countries  on  the  coast  of  America  to  the 
north  and  south  of  latitude  55°.  No  foreigner  was  permitted  to 
be  a  shareholder.  It  was  authorized  to  use  a  seal  and  a  flag  bear- 
ing the  Imperial  coat  of  arms.  From  the  year  1802,  officers  of 
the  Navy  were  constantly  in  the  employ  of  the  Company,  and 
they  were  enjoined  to  obey  the  orders  of  the  Chief  Manager.  The 
Governor  of  the  Company  at  Sitka  was  either  a  naval  or  military 
officer. 

It  seems  clear  that  these  developments,  continued  through  many 
years,  had  impressed  the  Russian  Government  with  the  importance 
of  the  North  Pacific  from  Japan  through  the  Kuril  Islands,  along 
the  Kamchatka  coast,  through  the  long  chain  of  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  and  the  coast  and  archipelagoes  of  Northwestern  America, 
as  an  immense  and  profitable  field  for  existing  and  future  traffic; 
and  furthermore,  that  any  claims  of  Spain,  England,  France  and 
America  had  been  only  formalities  of  possession  as  against  her 
right  of  discovery,  occupation  and  assertion  through  nearly  this 
whole  bounding  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific. 

The  traffic  referred  to  was  not  solely  with  reference  to  the  sea 
otter,  because  that  industr}^  was  largely  destroyed,  but  the  fur  seal 
had  become  a  source  of  wealth,  and  effisctive  means  were  proposed 
to  preserve  the  herds  of  the  Pribilof  Islands.  *  The  whaling 
industry  was  found  to  be  a  steady  source  of  revenue,  and  the 
traffic  with  the  natives  of  the  interior  of  the  Northwest  Coast  was 
being  developed. 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  at  Paris :    Volume  II,  page  45. 


RUSSIAN    RIGHTS   IN   THE   NORTH    PACIFIC.  37 

The  foregoing  condensed  statement  indicates  in  part  the  reasons 
for  the  claims  of  Russia  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  coast  bordering 
the  Northern  Pacific  and  the  contiguous  seas  and  waters,  and  actu- 
ally exercised  continuously  to  the  year  1821. 


REMARKS  UPON  THE  DISCOVERY  AND  OCCUPATION 

OF  ALASKA,   BY  SIMPSON,  FINDLAY,  AND 

THE  DUKE  OF  WELLINGTON. 


In  the  matter  of  the  rights  of  discovery  and  occupation  of  the 
Northwest  Coast  of  America  by  the  Russians,  we  have  presented 
sufficient  evidence  to  establish  their  claims  without  tracing  in  detail 
the  adventurers  from  Bombay  and  Boston,  Macao  and  Bristol,  who 
were  drawn  hither  by  the  knowledge  they  had  gleaned  of  what 
the  Russians  had  accomplished.  Spain,  Great  Britain  and  France 
fitted  out  expeditions  for  explorations:  Perez  in  1774,  to  Caamano 
in  1793;  Cook  in  1778,  to  Vancouver  in  1792,  La  Perouse  in 
1786. 

The  Russians  had  reached  the  coast  at  two  points  in  1741. 
Their  adventurous  fur  traders  soon  traced  the  Aleutians  to  the 
mainland,  discovered  the  Fur  Seal  Islands  in  Bering  Sea,  and  estab- 
lished headquarters  for  some  years  at  Kadiak,  before  John  Meares 
under  Portuguese  colors,  and  Portlock  and  Dixon,  English  fur 
traders,  reached  the  coast. 

We  have  presented  evidence  which  goes  far  to  prove  that  Russia, 
as  early  as  1803,  or  very  soon  thereafter,  had  the  intention  of  con- 
trolling the  North  Pacific;  and  took  advantage  of  Spain's  long  in- 
activity in  colonizing  the  countries  she  had  discovered  north  of 
San  Francisco.  Through  the  Alaska  islands  and  seaboard,  Russia 
had  her  small  military  guard  at  each  establishment;  then  she  ven- 
tured as  far  south  as  Fort  Ross  in  latitude  38°  31'  and  fortified  an 
extensive  stockade.     The  Company  had  from  two  to  eight  hundred 

4  i  S  b  d 


38  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

people  here,  whence  sealing  stations  were  established  on  the  South- 
east Farallon  oflf  the  Golden  Gate,  and  on  one  or  more  of  the 
Santa  Barbara  Islands. 

Except  at  Astoria  at  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  River,  no  other 
nation  held  any  post  or  established  any  colony  on  the  Northwest 
Coast. 

Sir  George  Simpson,  in  1847,  summed  up  the  status  of  the  Rus- 
sian claims  tersely  and  vigorously  in  his  remarks  about  the  discov- 
ery of  the  Northwest  Coast  by  ' '  Beering  and  Tschirikoflf,  respect- 
ively in  59°  and  56°."  He  awards  these  explorers  the  highest 
merit  and  adds  that  "discovery  and  possession  had  advanced  hand 
in  hand;"  that  "the  settlement  of  Kodyak  was  formed  four  years 
before  Meares  erected  his  solitary  shed  in  Nootka  Sound;  and 
Sitka  was  established  fully  ten  or  twelve  years  earlier  than 
Astoria. 

"According  to  this  plain  summary  of  undeniable  facts,  Russia 
had  clearly  the  better  claim,  at  least  down  to  the  parallel  of  56°, 
than  any  other  power  could  possibly  acquire;  and  this  is,  in  truth, 
all  that  has  been  conceded  to  her,  for  the  parallel  of  54°  40',  which 
has  been  fixed  by  the  treaty  of  the  international  boundary  on  the 
coast,  is  necessary,  in  order  to  include  the  whole  of  a  certain  island 
which  the  parallel  of  56°  intersects. 

' '  In  offering  this  defence  of  which  a  mistaken  patriotism  on  the 
part  of  English  writers,  is  too  apt  to  stigmatize  as  aggression  and 
intrusion,  I  have  no  other  object  than  to  do  what  I  believe  to  be 
right."     (Subsequently  quoted.) 

On  the  next  page  he  declares  that  England  and  Russia  "will 
control  the  human  race,"  and  "confine  every  other  nation  within 
the  scanty  limits  of  its  own  proper  locality. ' ' 

The  nation  particularly  referred  to  was  the  United  States.  He 
declares  that  the  acquisition  of  territory  by  the  Louisiana  Purchase 
"gradually  nursed  into  life  the  marauder's  plea  of  contiguity,  in 
other  words  when  the  Americans  found  the  Northwest  coast  within 
their  reach,  then,  and  not  until  then,  did  they  try  to  find  texts  for 
grasping  it.  The  end  was  as  impracticable  as  the  means  were 
unjustifiable.     The  United  States  will  never  possess  more  than  a 


ENGLISH  ACKNOWLEDGE    RUSSIAN    RIGHTS.  39 

nominal  jurisdiction,  nor  long  possess  even  that  on  the  west  side  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains."* 

He  mentioned  56°  because  he  elsewhere  states  that  Chirikof 
reached  the  coast  in  that  latitude,  and  not  where  he  actually  made 
the  land  in  55°  21'  as  the  record  demonstrates. 

In  the  discussion  of  the  Plenipotentiaries  to  the  Convention,  the 
rights  of  discovery  were  acknowledged,  and  only  slight  contentions 
oflfered  that  Russia  had  no  other  trading  station  than  Sitka  in  the 
Archipelago. 

Alexander  George  Findlay,  F.R.G.S.,  in  his  Directory  of  the 
North  Pacific  Ocean^  iS'jo^  says  (Page  445),  "  In  justice  to  Russia 
it  must  be  said  that  no  country  had  a  better  title  to  the  territory," 
and  he  discredits  Meares'  purchase  of  land  in  Nootka  Sound, 
Vancouver  Island, 

It  is  painful  in  this  connection  to  quote  the  declaration  of  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  as  to  Russia's  right  of  discovery,  but  it  is 
introduced  to  exhibit  the  lack  of  geographical  knowledge  of  the 
Northwest  coast  which  prevailed  in  some  quarters  during  the  nego- 
tiations. 

In  his  Confidential  Memorandum  to  Count  Nesselrode^  October 
17th,  i822,t  he  writes: 

' '  Although  we  might,  on  good  grounds,  dispute  with  Russia  the 
priority  of  discovery  on  these  continents,  we  contend  that  the 
much  more  easily  proved,  more  conclusive,  and  more  certain  title 
of  occupation  and  use,  ought  to  decide  the  claim  of  sovereignty. 

' '  We  can  prove  that  the  English  North-West  Company  and  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  have  for  many  years  established  forts  and 
other  trading  stations  in  a  country  called  New  Caledonia,  situated 
to  the  west  of  a  range  of  mountains  called  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
extending  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific  Ocean  from  latitude  49° 
to  latitude  60°. " 

He  then  refers  to  Establishments  of  the  Company  on  "Mac- 
kenzie's River";   and  beyond  the  ability  to  dispute  the  right  of 

*  Journey  round  the  World :    1841-42.     Two  volumes,  1847.     Volume   I,  page 
209.     The  title  in  full  is  given  elsewhere. 

t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration:    Volxime  IV,  page  389. 


40  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

discovery,  ' '  we  have  the  indisputable  claim  of  occupancy  and  use 
for  a  series  of  years. ' ' 

In  direct  contradiction  to  these  assumptions  the  Russian  Pleni- 
potentiaries in  their  "final  decision"*  declare  "qu'aureste,  d'apres 
le  temoignage  des  Cartes  les  plus  recentes  publiees  en  Angleterre, 
il  n'existe  aucun  Etablissement  Anglais  ni  sur  la  cote  meme  du 
continent  ni  au  nord  du  54°  de  latitude  septentrionale. ' ' 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration:    Volume  IV,  page  430. 


THE  ORGANIZATION  AND   EARLY  HISTORY  OF  THE 
RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY. 


For  nearly  seventy  years  the  Russian  American  Company  car- 
ried on  trade  with  the  native  inhabitants  and  foreign  vessels  and 
foreign  trading  companies  throughout  the  northern  coasts  of  the 
Pacific,  east  and  west,  and  through  the  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic. 

In  the  Fur  Seal  Controversy  (1892),  the  organization  and 
methods  of  the  Company  were  the  subject  of  much  discussion, 
and  from  Volume  II  we  may  appropriate  a  few  words  of  its  history. 
(Pages  34-36.) 

"The  Russian  American  Company  was  the  outgrowth  of  the 
numerous  trading  associations,  which,  soon  after  the  discoveries  of 
1 741,  began  to  develop  the  lucrative  fur  trade  in  the  Aleutian 
Islands  and  Bering  Sea.  The  rivalry  and  competition  which  grew 
up  between  them  proved  in  many  ways  disastrous,  and  resulted 
eventually  in  the  placing  of  the  fur  trade  of  the  Colonies  under  the 
control  of  a  single  powerful  organization.  This  was  accomplished 
in  1799,  in  which  year  a  ukase  was  issued,  creating  the  'Russian 
American  Company'  and  containing  its  first  charter. 

' '  This  ukase  invested  it  with  special  and  exclusive  privileges  for 
a  period  of  twenty  years  on  the  shores  of  northwestern  America, 
between  latitude  55°  N.  and  Bering  Strait,  on  the  Aleutian 
Islands,  the  Kurile  Islands  and  the  islands  of  the  Northeastern  or 
Bering  Sea.  To  it  was  reserved  the  exclusive  right  to  all  products 
of  the  chase  and  of  commerce  in  those  regions;  and  it  was  specially 
authorized  to  take  possession  on  behalf  of  the  Imperial  Govern- 
ment of  newly  discovered  countries,  both  to  the  north  and  to  the 
south  of  latitude  55°  on  the  coast  of  America.  It  was  authorized 
to  establish  agencies  within  and  without  the  empire,  and  to  use  a 
seal  and  a  flag  bearing  the  Imperial  coat  of  arms.  Its  chief  place 
of  business,  which  was  originally  at  Irkutsk,  was  soon  transferred 
to  St.  Petersburg,  where  its  shareholders,  none  of  whom  were 
allowed  to  be  foreigners,  embraced  members  of  the  Imperial  family 
and  the  high  nobility. 


42  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

"While  the  privileges  conferred  by  this  charter  were  very  great, 
the  Company  was,  on  the  other  hand,  burdened  with  some  heavy 
obligations.  It  was  compelled  at  its  own  expense  to  carry  on  the 
government  of  the  region  over  which  its  privileges  extended,  to 
maintain  courts,  the  church,  and  a  small  military  force,  and,  at  a 
later  period,  to  hold  ready  at  various  points  on  the  coast,  provisions 
and  stores  for  the  use  in  cases  of  emergency,  of  the  naval  vessels  or 
troops  of  the  Russian  Government." 

A  Chief  Manager  or  Governor  was  chosen  for  the  purposes  of 
administration ;  he  was  to  be  an  officer  of  the  Army  or  Navy,  and 
his  powers  were  absolute  within  the  territory  over  which  the  Com- 
pany exercised  jurisdiction;  and  he  was  to  reside  at  Sitka. 

The  Company  paid  no  royalty  or  rent  to  the  Government,  but 
in  the  exchange  of  furs  for  teas  on  the  Chinese  frontier,  the  Gov- 
ernment collected  large  duties  upon  the  teas. 

"In  short,  the  Company  administered  both  government  and 
trade  throughout  the  whole  of  the  territory  over  which  it  was 
given  control."     (Page  37.) 


THE    UKASE    OF    1821. 


This  remarkable  document  was  confessedly  prompted  and  drawn 
up  by  the  Russian  American  Company  on  account  of  the  illicit 
traffic,  in  spirituous  liquors  and  fire-arms,  with  the  natives  by  the 
foreign  fur  traders  in  the  North  Pacific.  The  original  was  signed 
by  the  Directing  Senate  and  endorsed  by  the  Emperor,  "Be  it 
accordingly,  Alexander."  It  was  an  unequivocal  claim  by  Russia 
to  all  the  fishing  and  fur  hunting  grounds  of  the  North  Pacific  and 
Bering  Sea. 

It  was  made  known  on  the  4th  of  September,  1821,  and  nine 
days  later,  the  Emperor  renewed  the  charter  of  the  Russian  Ameri- 
can Company  for  twenty  years,  with  some  additions  to  the  previous 
charter. 

In  1820  all  foreigners  had  been  ordered  to  leave  Kamchatka  and 
Okhotsk ;  and  were  forbidden  from  enjoying  any  intercourse  or  trade 
with  the  native  inhabitants;  as  well  as  from  visiting  the  waters 
frequented  by  sea  otters  and  fur  seals,  under  penalty  of  the  most 
severe  measures,  including  the  confiscation  of  ships  and  the 
imprisonment  of  crews  engaged  in  illegal  traffic.  All  force  was  to 
be  used  to  drive  foreigners  from  these  waters. 

We  propose  to  give  two  sections  of  this  historic  document.  * 

' '  Section  i .  The  pursuits  of  commerce,  whaling,  and  fishery, 
and  of  all  other  industry,  on  all  islands,  ports,  and  gulfs,  including 
the  whole  of  the  north-west  coast  of  America,  beginning  from 
Behring's  Straits,  to  the  51st  degree  of  northern  latitude,  also  from 
the  Aleutian  Islands  to  the  eastern  coast  of  Siberia,  as  well  as  along 
the  Kurile  Islands  from  Behring's  Straits  to  the  south  cape  of  the 
Island  of  Urup,t  viz.,  to  the  45°  50'  northern  latitude,  is  exclu- 
sively granted  to  Russian  subjects. 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  at  Paris.  Volume  IV,  1893;  pages  214-221,  222-227,  247, 
370-375-     Volume  I,  pages  16  and  24. 

t  The  Southern  Cape  of  the  Island  of  Urup  (now  belongiug  to  Japan)  is  in  lati- 
tude 45°  37>^'.  See  Notes  on  the  Kuril  Islands.  By  Captain  H.  J.  Snow, 
F.R.G.S.  London  :  John  Murray,  Albemarle  Street.  1897.  It  is  the  third 
island  northeasterly  from  Yezo. 


44  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

"Section  2.  It  is  therefore  prohibited  to  all  foreign  vessels  not 
only  to  land  on  the  coasts  and  islands  belonging  to  Russia,  as  stated 
above,  but  also  to  approach  them  within  less  than  100  Italian  miles. 
The  transgressor's  vessel  is  subject  to  confiscation,  along  with  the 
whole  cargo." 

Further  on,  section  26  directed  that  commanders  of  Russian  ves- 
sels were  to  search  vessels  that  were  even  suspected;  and  if  the 
vessel  resisted,  then  she  was  to  be  considered  an  enemy  and  treated 
as  such  by  naval  law. 

So  far  as  the  Ukase  aflfected  the  seas  and  their  shores,  Russia 
must  have  regarded  it  as  merely  declaratory  of  existing  rights;  and 
in  the  instructions  of  September  21st,  1821,  to  the  Chief  Manager 
of  the  Russian  American  Company,  he  was  assured  that  a  squadron 
of  naval  vessels  would  visit  the  North  Pacific  to  protect  their  ex- 
clusive privileges.  The  Company  even  looked  forward  to  reduce 
the  catch  of  fur  seals  on  the  Pribilof  Islands. 

The  rights  and  privileges  which  had  been  granted  to  the  Rus- 
sian American  Company  by  the  Ukase  of  1799,  and  which  had 
been  jealously  guarded,  were,  by  this  new  Ukase,  to  be  strength- 
ened by  the  presence  of  naval  vessels  having  supreme  authority. 
' '  We  can  now  stand  upon  our  rights,  and  drive  from  our  waters 
and  ports  the  intruders  who  threaten  to  neutralize  the  benefits  and 
gifts  most  graciously  bestowed  upon  our  Company  by  His  Imperial 
Majesty. ' ' 

The  Ukase  of  1799  had  carried  the  jurisdiction  of  Russia  south- 
ward to  latitude  55°,  and  had  called  forth  no  protests;  it  was  only 
when  the  1821  Ukase  carried  the  latitude  to  51°  that  the  fur  traders 
of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  were  aroused,  for  it  is  well 
known  that  the  traders  from  these  countries  had  been  busily  en- 
gaged in  traffic  with  the  natives  from  Dixon  Entrance  in  54°  40', 
to  Queen  Charlotte  Sound  in  latitude  51°,  as  well  as  through  the 
Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago.  * 

The  one  hundred  miles  limit  f  was  chosen  because  a  precedent 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitratiofi :    Volume  I,  pages  132-152. 

t  The  Italian  mile  is  the  geographical  mile,  or  one  minute  of  latitude,  equal  to 
6080.0  feet. 


THE   UKASE   A    POLITICAL   BLUNDER.  45 

had  been  found  in  the  Treaty  of  Ghent  that  reached  thirty  marine 
leagues.  Moreover,  it  covered  the  interrelation  of  the  islands  of 
the  eastern  part  of  the  Bering  Sea  to  each  other  and  to  the  main- 
land and  the  Aleutians;  it  also  covered  the  Kadiak  group.  It 
was  particularly  important  in  protecting  the  Saint  Paul  and  Saint 
George  Islands  upon  which  the  fur  seal  herd  spent  the  breeding 
season. 

This  Ukase  of  1821  had  been  pushed  forward  by  the  Managers 
of  the  Company  at  St.  Petersburg,  upon  insufficient  evidence,  and 
was  doomed  to  commercial  failure. 

It  had  been  adopted  by  the  Government  without  exhaustive 
consideration  of  the  rights  or  claims  of  other  parties,  and  accom- 
panied by  threats  that  no  nation  could  bear.  It  was  a  political 
blunder.     It  almost  solicited  attack. 

In  the  first  place  it  broke  up  the  traffic  relations  of  the  Russian 
American  Company  with  the  foreign  traders  on  the  Northwest 
Coast,  and  cut  oflf  the  supplies  of  provisions  and  other  commodities 
brought  by  these  foreign  vessels  from  their  home  ports.  This  was 
so  serious  a  matter  that  an  order  was  soon  issued  from  St.  Peters- 
burg to  open  the  port  of  Sitka  to  foreign  vessels,  and  business 
revived. 

In  the  second  place,  the  American  and  British  trading  com- 
panies called  the  attention  of  Congress  and  Parliament  respectively 
to  the  arbitrary  measure,  and  both  Governments  took  immediate 
and  decided  action.  Neither  the  United  States  nor  Great  Britain 
had  any  territorial  rights  on  the  Northwest  Coast  beyond  the  lati- 
tude of  54°  40',  if  that  far.  On  the  other  hand,  Russia  had  the 
right  of  discovery  and  occupation,  but  both  countries  were  deter- 
mined that  Russia  should  not  control  the  North  Pacific  and  Bering 
Sea.  Nevertheless,  it  was  considered  sound  policy  to  obtain  from 
her  a  revocation  of  the  Ukase  by  friendly  words  through  some 
happy  elasticity  of  expression  that  would  not  wound  her  proper 
pride. 

In  the  proceedings  which  resulted  from  these  protests  there 
appeared  another  ' '  power  behind  the  throne ' '  that  had  a  far-seeing 
and  far-reaching  object  in   view.     This  was  the  Hudson's    Bay 


46  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

Company.  It  had  trading  stations  east  of  the  unexplored  regions 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  had  never  ventured  towards  the 
Pacific  Coast,  in  these  latitudes,  although  Alexander  Mackenzie 
had,  after  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  from  Montreal, 
returned  by  the  same  route  to  Fort  Chipewyan  and  thence  south- 
westwardly  to  the  Cascade  Canal  of  Vancouver  making  into  the 
land  from  the  Pacific  about  latitude  52°  20',  but  finding  nothing  to 
interest  the  Company,  had  returned  direct  to  Montreal. 

After  1 82 1,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  saw  its  opportunity  and 
brought  all  its  powerful  influence  to  bear  upon  the  home  Govern- 
ment to  make  territorial  claims  on  the  Northwest  Coast;  the  proof 
positive  of  this  assertion  is  seen  in  Mr.  George  Canning's  letter  of 
April  24th,  1824,  to  Sir  Charles  Bagot:  "I  have  referred  the  whole 
question  of  this  negotiation  anew  to  the  Governors  of  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company,  whose  report  I  expect  shortly  to  receive. "  *  A  re- 
markable confession. 

Russia  and  Great  Britain  were  thus  urged  forward  by  two  pow- 
erful, rich  and  rival  fur  trading  companies;  and  although  the  Am- 
bassadors of  both  countries  finally  signed  the  Convention,  they  did 
so  only  when  these  companies  were  satisfied  with  the  terms.  (We 
shall  elsewhere  show  that  they  exerted  an  equal  power  with  their 
respective  Governments  upon  the  naval  operations  of  the  Northwest 
Coast  during  the  Crimean  War  of  1854-55.) 

Fortunately  for  the  proper  understanding  of  these  prolonged  ne- 
gotiations, and  their  main  object,  there  are  sources  of  contemporary 
information  that  declare  this  object,  and  the  modus  operandi  by 
which  it  was  obtained. 

As  early  as  February,  1822,  the  Russian  Ambassador  Poletica  at 
Washington  had  vindicated  the  Ukase.  As  the  eflfects  upon  trafiic, 
and  upon  the  refusal  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  to  ad- 
mit such  rights,  became  better  known  to  Russia,  the  Ukase  was 
quietly  abandoned;  but  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  deter- 
mined to  have  a  revocation  published. 

Mr.  George  Canning,  writing  to  the  Russian  Ambassador,  Count 
Lieven,  at  London,    September  12th,    1824,   says:    "I  know  the 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :    Volume  IV,  page  430. 


REVOCATION    OF   THE   UKASE   DEMANDED.  47 

Ukase  is  practically  suspended,  but  we  have  no  document  to  show 
it  is  so.  And  we  have,  as  your  Excellency  knows,  purposely 
abstained  from  requiring  any,  in  the  hope  that  the  subject  of  the 
Ukase  would  be  merged  in  the  larger  arrangements  respecting  the 
north-west  coast  of  America. ' '  * 

At  a  later  date,  December  8th,  1824,  ^^-  George  Canning  wrote 
to  Mr.  Stratford  Canning,  then  appointed  Plenipotentiary  to  Rus- 
sia, to  conclude  the  discussions  that  had  arisen  about  the  promul- 
gation of  the  Russian  Ukase  of  1821,  and  said:  "You  *  *  *  will 
declare  without  reserve  that  the  point  to  which  alone  the  solicitude 
of  the  British  Government  and  the  jealousy  of  the  British  nation 
attach  any  great  importance  is  the  doing  away  (in  a  manner  as 
little  disagreeable  to  Russia  as  possible)  of  the  effect  of  the 
Ukase  of  1821. 

"That  this  Ukase  is  not  acted  upon,  and  that  the  instructions 
have  been  long  ago  sent  by  the  Russian  Government  to  their 
cruizers  in  the  Pacific  to  suspend  the  execution  of  its  provisions 
is  true;  but  a  private  disavowal  of  a  published  claim  is  no  security 
against  the  revival  of  that  claim. ' ' 

"  *  *  *  We  do  not  desire  that  any  distinct  reference  should 
be  made  to  the  Ukase  of  1821." 

"This  stipulation  stands  in  the  front  of  the  Convention  con- 
cluded between  Russia  and  the  United  States  of  America;  and  we 
see  no  reason  why  upon  similar  claims  we  should  obtain  \_s/c]  ex- 
actly the  like  satisfaction. ' '  f 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :     Volume  IV,  page  443. 
t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :    Volume  IV,  page  446. 


WHAT  WERE  THE  AVAILABLE  MAPS  OR  CHARTS  OF 
THE    NORTHWEST    COAST    OF    AMERICA,  AT 
THE  EPOCH  OF  THE  FIRST  NEGOTIA- 
TIONS BETWEEN  RUSSIA  AND  THE 
UNITED  STATES,  AND   RUSSIA 
AND  GREAT   BRITAIN  IN 
1822-1825. 


The  only  available  chart  was  that  of  George  Vancouver,  Esq. ,  who 
had  executed  a  very  remarkable  survey  or  reconnaissance  of  the 
Northwest  Coast  of  America  from  latitude  30"  along  the  Conti- 
nental shore  to  and  including  Cooks  Inlet.  This  supreme  work 
was  accomplished  in  the  years  1792,  1793  and  1794,  and  published 
by  the  Government  in  1798.  His  work  consists  of  three  large 
quarto  volumes  illustrated,  and  accompanied  by  a  large  atlas  in 
which  there  are  eight  charts,  each  larger  than  the  atlas,  with  many 
inset  harbors,  and  four  sheets  of  views  along  his  line  of  explora- 
tion. Considering  the  vessels,  instruments  and  means  at  his 
disposal,  the  intricate  nature  of  the  navigation,  the  unknown 
currents,  the  adverse  climate,  and  the  frequent  hostility  of  the 
natives,  it  is  a  marvel  how  much  was  accomplished.  Fortunately 
he  was  supported  by  officers  who  were  singularly  devoted  to  the 
duties  of  their  station.  Vancouver  did  not  live  to  see  his  work  in 
print. 

Captain  James  Cook  had  preceded  him  in  1778,  but  except  at 
Friendly  Cove,  Nootka  Sound,  his  exploration  does  not  exhibit 
details  until  he  had  reached  the  latitude  just  south  of  Sitka  Sound. 
His  work  beyond  that  was  a  new  revelation  of  the  outline  of  the 
Northwest  Coast,  but  he  did  not  enter  the  Archipelago  Alexander. 
He  examined  Prince  William  Sound  and  Cook's  River  (Inlet)  and 
penetrated  to  the  Arctic  in  search  of  the  passage  between  the 
Pacific  and  the  Atlantic, 

The  Spaniards  had  been  carr^ang  on  explorations  in  the  north- 
west from  the  first  high  latitude  of  Don  Juan  Perez  in  1774  to  and 
including  the  time  of  Vancouver.  They  had  made  more  extensive 
surveys  than  he  because  they  had  examined  all   the  islands  and 


50  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

channels  from  Puget  Sound  to  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal,  and  had 
made  an  examination  of  part  of  Prince  William  Sound.  Unfortu- 
nately their  results  were  not  published  by  the  Spanish  Government, 
and  have  not  been  published.  They  did  not  have  the  same  particular 
object  in  view  that  controlled  Vancouver,  or  if  they  had,  they  did 
not  reveal  it. 

In  1792,  Vancouver  met  the  Spanish  explorers  in  the  Gulf  of 
Georgia;  and  again  in  1793,  he  met  them  in  the  Archipelago 
Alexander.  At  every  meeting  they  cheerfully  exhibited  their 
charts  to  him,  and  all  the  material  he  received  from  them  is  drawn 
upon  his  charts  in  fine  outline.  He  generously  acknowledges  their 
many  courtesies. 

That  Vancouver  had  access  to  the  charts  of  Caamano  in  1793, 
is  established  by  his  reference  to  them  in  Volume  II  seven  times 
between  pages  325  and  381;  and  in  other  places  he  refers  to  the 
charts  of  Quadra,  Fidalgo,  Saavedra  and  others. 

The  French  expedition  under  La  Perouse  was  on  the  Northwest. 
Coast  in  1786;  touched  at  the  entrance  to  Yakutat  Bay;  entered 
Lituya  Bay  and  met  with  disaster;  and  made  no  reconnaissance  of 
the  Archipelago  Alexander.  In  1799  the  French  Government 
published  the  chart  of  the  Northwest  Coast  by  Vancouver.*  The 
narrative  and  charts  of  La  Perouse  had  been  published  by  the 
Government  in  1797. 

There  were,  therefore,  no  original  and  trustworthy  charts  of  the 
Northwest  Coast  except  those  of  Vancouver,  which  had  been  pub- 
lished twenty-six  years  before  the  Convention  between  Russia  and 
the  United  States  in  1824-25.  Furthermore,  it  is  seen  in  the 
negotiations  of  the  Convention  that  the  names  of  places  and  the 
latitudes  and  longitudes  are  those  of  Vancouver.  Of  the  names 
of  places,  we  find  Cross  Sound,  Lynn  Canal,  Chatham  Strait, 
Duke  of  York's  Island,  Duke  of  Clarence's  Strait,  Prince  of  Wales 
Island  (for  Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago).  There  were  other  charts 
used  by  the  Russian  and  British  Plenipotentiaries,  but  they  were 

*  The  French  Government  published  an  edition  of  Vancouver's  narrative  and 
charts.  They  are  identical  reproductions.  See  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146,  soth 
Congress,  2nd  Session,  March  2,  1889. 


VANCOUVER'S   CHARTS.  5 1 

all  based  upon  the  charts  of  Vancouver;  he  was  the  sole  authority, 
and  they  are  all  on  so  large  a  scale  that  Tebenkof's  reproductions 
of  them  as  the  basis  of  his  atlas  of  1849-52,  were  the  only  charts 
used  in  1867  upon  the  Northwest  Coast. 

We  find  the  following  references  to  the  other  charts  before  the 
negotiators,  or  available  to  some  of  them: 

Sir  Charles  Bagot  wrote  to  the  Marquis  of  Ivondonderry  from 
St.  Petersburgh,  November  17th,  i82i,*and  closed  by  saying  that 
he  forwarded  a  ' '  Map  of  the  northwest  coasts  of  America,  and  the 
Aleutian  and  Kurile  Islands,  which  has  been  published  in  the 
Quarter-Master-General's  Department  here,  and  upon  which  I  have 
marked  all  the  principal  Russian  Settlements." 

He  also  wrote  to  Mr.  George  Canning,  Secretary  of  the  Foreign 
Oflfice,  from  St.  Petersburgh,  August  19th  (31st),  1823:  "The 
Russian  Settlement  of  Sitka,  to  which  I  am  told  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment pretends  to  attach  great  importance,  is  not  laid  down  very 
precisely  in  the  Map  published  in  1802  in  the  Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral's Department  here,  or  laid  down  at  all  in  that  of  Arrowsmith, 
which  has  been  furnished  to  me  from  the  Foreign  Office,  "f 

And,  again,  in  October  17th  (29th),  1823:  "The  British  Gov- 
ernment would,  I  thought,  be  satisfied  to  take  Cross  Sound,  being 
about  the  latitude  of  S7}4°,  as  the  boundary  between  the  two 
Powers  on  the  coast,  and  a  meridian  line  drawn  from  the  head  of 
Lynn  Canal,  as  it  is  laid  down  in  Arrowsmith' s  last  map,  or  about 
the  135th  degree  of  west  longitude,  as  the  boundary  in  the  interior 
of  the  continent."     (page  412.) 

We  herewith  submit  a  description  of  the  Russian  Map  of  1802: 

"Map  of  the  North-West  Coasts  of  America,  and  the  Aleutian 
and  Kurile  Islands:  Published  in  the  Quartermaster-General's 
Department.  St.  Petersburgh,  1802."  The  size  is  33  inches  by 
20  inches. 

This  map  is  on  the  Mercator  projection  and  embraces  the  North 
Pacific,  from  latitude  40°,  Bering  Sea,  and  part  of  the  Arctic  to 
latitude  70°,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River.     It  is  only 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :    Volume  IV,  page  370. 
t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Volume  IV,  pages  407-9. 


52  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

useful  as  a  general  chart;  all  the  Northwest  Coast  is  taken  from 
Vancouver  and  Cook,  but  not  all  of  Cook  in  the  Arctic.  Van- 
couver's mountains  are  exhibited,  and  some  of  his  names.  Mac- 
kenzie's "Conventional  Mountains"  are  shown  in  the  interior. 
The  scale  is  quite  small;  the  Archipelago  Alexander  from  Port- 
land Canal  to  Lynn  Canal  is  only  three  and  a  quarter  inches  long, 
against  Vancouver's  twenty-nine  inches;  and  it  is  a  little  more 
than  one-half  the  scale  of  his  general  map  of  that  region.  Oflf 
Queen  Charlotte's  Island  there  has  been  written  ^''  Noms  Anglois 
d'' apres  Va7icouver^'*''  and  then  New  Albion,  etc.  Within  the  upper 
margin  has  been  written  '''' Iiiclosure  in  Sir  C.  Bagofs  desp.  No. 
j6y  Nov.  77,  1821^^''  and  Sir  Charles  says  that  he  has  marked  upon 
it  "all  the  principal  Russian  Settlements."  *  A  reproduction  of 
the  chart  is  found  in  Volume  V,  of  the  Fur  Seal  Arbitration. 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :     Volume  IV,  page  370. 


THE*  SPECIAL  PURPOSE  OF  VANCOUVER'S  EXPLOR- 
ATIONS  ON    THE    NORTHWEST    COAST.— HIS 
METHOD   OF  REPRESENTING   SOME  OF 
THE  PHYSICAL  FEATURES  OF  THE 
COUNTRY    AND    COAST.  * 


Under  the  conditions  just  mentioned,  it  is  necessary  to  study  the 
charts  to  learn  what  certain  conventional  characters  thereon  repre- 
sent; but  to  understand  the  import  of  the  features  depicted,  we 
should  fully  comprehend  the  purpose  for  which  his  voyage  of 
exploration  and  discovery  was  undertaken. 

This  voyage  was  "undertaken  by  His  Majesty's  command,  prin- 
cipally with  a  view  to  ascertain  the  existence  of  any  navigable 
communication  between  the  North  Pacific  and  North  Atlantic 
Oceans."  (Title  to  Narrative.)  For  this  purpose  "the  Commis- 
sioners for  executing  the  office  of  Lord  High  Admiral  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland"  *  *  *  directed  him  "to  repair  to  the 
north-west  coast  of  America  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  a  more 
complete  knowledge  of  it."  (Introduction,  page  xvii.)  And  to 
accomplish  this,  he  was  not  only  to  ascertain  the  general  line  of 
the  sea  coast,  but  the  direction  and  extent  of  all  such  considerable 
inlets,  whether  made  by  arms  of  the  sea  or  by  the  mouths  of 
large  rivers,  etc.  He  was  particularly  enjoined  to  examine  the 
"  supposed  Straits  of  Juan  de  Fuca;  (Introduction,  page  xx)  and  • 
moreover  he  was  "required  and  directed  not  to  pursue  any  river  or 
inlet  further  than  it  shall  appear  to  be  navigable  by  vessels  of  such 
burthen  as  might  safely  navigate  the  pacific  ocean."  (page  xix.) 
These  instructions  are  dated  March  8th,  1791. 

*A  Voyage  of  Discovery  to  the  North  Pacific  Ocean  and  Round  the  World ;  in 
which  the  Coast  of  North-West  America  has  been  carefully  examined  and  accu- 
rately surveyed.  Undertaken  by  His  Majesty's  Command,  principally  with  a  view 
to  ascertain  the  existence  of  any  navigable  communication  between  the  North 
Pacific  and  the  North  Atlantic  Oceans;  and  performed  in  the  years  1790, 179I1 1792, 
1793,  1794,  and  1795,  in  the  Discovery  ^\oo^  of  War,  and  Armed  Tender  Chatham, 
under  the  command  of  Captain  George  Vancouver.  In  three  Volumes.  London: 
Printed  for  G,  G.  and  J.  Robinson,  Paternoster-Row ;  and  J.  Edwards,  Pali-Mall. 
1798.  (Quarto,  about  five  hundred  pages  each  volume,  with  illtistrations  and  a 
large  atlas.) 


54  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

Vancouver  implicitly  followed  his  instructions  and  completed  a 
survey  of  exploration  and  discovery  unique  in  the  published  history 
of  geography. 

His  narrative  gives  us  frequent  remarks  about  the  delineation  of 
the  "Continental  shore;"  every  officer,  away  for  weeks  at  a  time 
on  boat  duty,  was  imbued  by  this  governing  idea.  His  charts  state 
that  * '  the  Continental  shore  has  been  correctly  traced  and  deter- 
mined ;' '  and  no  investigator  may  ever  doubt  ' '  that  scrupulous 
veracity  from  which  Captain  Vancouver  never  departed. ' '  (Adver- 
tisement, Volume  I.)  Even  in  Prince  William  Sound,  which  he 
found  surrounded  by  lofty  snow  mountains,  the  boats  of  Whidbey 
and  Johnstone  searched  to  the  head  of  every  fiord  to  the  fronts  of 
the  glaciers,  although  that  was,  as  he  writes,  "only  secondary;" 
yet,  it  was  done  ' '  without  swerving  from  our  principal  object,  viz. , 
the  survey  of  the  shore  of  the  Continent.''''     (Volume  HI,  Page  187.) 

In  the  dedication  of  the  Narrative  to  the  King,  the  editor,  his 
brother,  writes,  ' '  that  within  the  limits  of  his  researches  on  the 
continental  shore  of  North-west  America,  no  internal  sea  or 
OTHER  NAVIGABLE  COMMUNICATION  whatever  exists,  uniting  the 
Pacific  and  Atlantic  Oceans." 

In  criticising  Vancouver's  charts  to  gather  some  of  their  char- 
acteristic features,  we  see  they  clearly  indicate  where  a  shore  line 
or  a  coast  line  was  determined  from  the  vessel  under  way,  and 
where  it  was  more  closely  delineated  from  the  boats.  In  the  latter 
case  there  is  much  of  detail,  and  the  narrative  confirms  this.  The 
outlines  that  were  obtained  from  the  Spanish  explorers  are  easily 
recognized.  They  indicate  the  shore  line  or  coast  line  that  he  did 
not  visit  or  did  not  see.  Certain  conventional  methods  were 
employed  in  the  projection  of  the  mountain  ranges  as  seen  from 
seaward.     He  improved  upon  the  method  adopted  by  Cook. 

As  a  rule  he  laid  down  in  a  conventional  manner  a  range  of 
mountains  along  the  whole  Pacific  Coast.  In  California  and 
Oregon,  the  line  is  usually  a  few  miles  inland;  in  British  Columbia 
and  Alaska,  much  farther.  Even  in  the  general  and  in  the  more 
detailed  charts  of  the  same  regions,  the  distances  of  the  range 
differ.  He  evidently  intended  to  convey  the  information  that 
behind   the    Continental    shore    there   was  a  range,  or  ranges,  of 


THE   SCRUPULOUS   VERACITY   OF   VANCOUVER.  55 

mountains  at  distances  obtained  by  estimation,  because  he  could 
not  determine  them  with  the  means  he  had,  nor  were  their  dis- 
tances necessary  for  his  work.  Through  the  Archipelago  Alexan- 
der, the  distances  of  the  mountain  range  are  laid  down  from  ten  to 
twenty-four  miles  inside  the  coast.  On  the  ocean  coast,  as  far 
west  as  the  Saint  Elias  and  Fairweather  ranges,  he  estimated  the 
distances  of  the  notable  peaks  of  the  same  names  as  twenty  and 
ten  miles  from  the  water;  both  nearly  correct, 

Vancouver's  method  of  exhibiting  all  mountain  ranges  as  he 
saw  them  from  the  water  should  be  borne  in  mind  in  its  bearing 
upon  the  words  of  the  Treaty  of  1825  that  refer  to  "la  crete  des 
montaynes  situees  parallelement  a  la  Cote. ' '  This  was  one  of  the 
governing  features  seized  upon  by  the  contracting  Powers. 

We  elsewhere  show  that  his  method  has  been  carried  out  to  the 
present  day. 

All  the  circumstances  considered,  this  great  navigator,  explorer 
and  discoverer,  gave  the  world  a  remarkable  series  of  charts,  and 
his  narrative  may  be  followed,  as  we  have  tested  it  through  many 
years,  with  the  satisfying  sense  that  he  was  stating  the  truth  as  it 
appeared  to  him;  and  the  investigator  may  never  doubt  "that 
scrupulous  veracity  from  which  Captain  Vancouver  never 
departed." 

It  is  here  proper  to  say  that  the  able  Russian  navigator  and 
cartographer,  Captain  Tebenkof,  in  1848,  based  his  great  atlas  on 
Vancouver's  charts;  and  that  as  late  as  1867  United  States  Gov- 
ernment vessels  sailed  the  intricate  channels  leading  to  and 
through  the  Archipelago  Alexander  by  the  charts  based  on  Van- 
couver. We  were  on  the  United  States  revenue  steamer  Lincoln 
when  the  Russian  pilot,  M.  M.  Kadin,  took  her  from  Victoria  to 
Sitka  by  the  Tebenkof  charts. 

In  1865,  the  British  Admiralty  published  the  large-scale  chart 
No.  2431  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  based  on  Vancouver  and 
Russian  surveys.  This  has  been  republished  as  new  details  have 
been  gathered  to  1888.  In  1869,  the  Hydrographic  Bureau  of 
the  United  States  Navy  Department  published  chart  No.  225 
of  the  Archipelago  from  the  British  chart  No.  2431. 


DESCRIPTION    OF   THE   ARCHIPELAGO  ALEXANDER. 


Geographically,  the  Archipelago  Alexander  is  the  northern  de- 
velopment of  that  long  line  of  islands  and  straits  that  reach  from 
the  head  of  Puget  Sound  in  latitude  47°  03'  to  the  head  of  Taiyd 
Inlet  in  latitude  59°  29',  and  having  a  general  direction  to  the 
northwest. 

The  Archipelago  so  named  *  is  restricted  to  the  islands  and 
straits  and  inlets  northward  of  Dixon  Entrance  in  latitude  54°  40', 
through  375  nautical  miles  in  a  straight  line  with  a  breadth  of  90 
miles  between  the  outer  coast  and  the  main  line  of  the  Continental 
shore.  There  are  great  straits  through  the  many  hundreds  of 
islands,  capable  of  deep  draught  navigation;  the  channels  are  safe 
highways;  anchorages  are  numerous;  the  walls  of  the  islands  are 
rocky,  bold,  and  attain  elevations  of  three  thousand  feet.  The 
measured  shore  line  of  this  Archipelago  reaches  nearly  eight  thou- 
sand miles. 

Great,  deep  fiords  with  bold  shores  intrude  into  the  Continental 
shore  for  many  miles,  and  that  shore  is  generally  bold,  high,  rug- 
ged. All  of  the  shores  of  the  islands  and  mainland  are  marked  by 
a  growth  of  trees  wherever  they  can  get  a  foothold  up  to  an  eleva- 
tion of  about  two  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  principal  fiords,  inlets  and  canals  that  penetrate  the  Conti- 
nental shore  north  of  latitude  54°  40',  are  the  following,  and  reck- 
oning the  distances  in  a  straight  line  from  the  entrance  to  the 
head: 

Portland  Inlet  and  Canal,  76  nautical  miles  with  a  depth  of  over 
TOO  fathoms  of  water  to  near  the  head. 

Boca  de  Quadra,  23  nautical  miles;  54  fathoms  near  the  head. 

Burroughs  Bay,  5  nautical  miles  to  mouth  of  Unuk  River;  97 
fathoms  close  to  head. 

*In  1788  called  by  Meares  the  "Great  Northern  Archipelago,"  page  212,  his 
narrative. 

Vancouver  named  several  minor  archipelagoes  in  the  Archipelago  Alexander. 
We  applied  the  present  name  in  1867.  House  of  Representatives,  40th  Congress, 
2d  Session,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  ijj,  page  234. 


58  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

Bradford  Canal,  13  nautical  miles;  65  fathoms  near  head, 

Blake  Channel,  15  nautical  miles;  47  fathoms  near  head. 

Conte  Bay,  5  nautical  miles;  39  fathoms. 

Thomas  Bay,  7  nautical  miles;  48  fathoms. 

Port  Houghton,  13  nautical  miles;  48  fathoms. 

Endicott  Arm  from  Port  Snettisham,  23  nautical  miles;  122 
fathoms  near  head. 

Tracy  Arm  from  Port  Snettisham,  16  nautical  miles;  157  fath- 
oms near  head. 

North  Arm  of  Port  Snettisham,  11  nautical  miles;  103  fathoms 
near  head. 

Taku  Inlet,  16  nautical  miles;  56  fathoms  at  head;  it  receives 
the  Taku  River,  navigable  for  canoes  and  small  boats  about  thirty- 
five  miles  (Douglas). 

Bemers  Bay,  4  nautical  miles;  30  fathoms  at  head. 

Taiya  Inlet,  12  nautical  miles  from  head  of  Lynn  Canal;  60 
fathoms  near  head;  it  carries  230  fathoms. 

There  are  no  streams  that  break  through  the  Continental  shore 
with  waters  deep  enough  for  even  moderately  sized  steamboats. 
The  Stakheen  is  the  largest  stream  breaking  through  the 
mountains  that  lie  between  the  interior  plateau  region  and 
the  waters  of  the  Archipelago.  That  river  has  been  navigated 
with  difficulty,  when  not  frozen,  by  a  small  steamboat  for  about 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles.  It  is  full  of  bars  and  rifiles, 
and  in  the  lower  reaches  it  has  a  current  of  four  or  five  miles  per 
hour;  before  the  upper  part  is  reached  by  the  steamboat  there  are 
two  reaches  where  the  current  runs  ten  miles  per  hour. 

At  the  mouths  of  the  river  the  amount  of  debris  brought  down 
has  blocked  direct  navigation  of  the  eastern  straits  for  over  ten 
miles. 


NEGOTIATIONS  LEADING  TO  THE  ADOPTION 

OF  THE  LISIERE. 


In  February,  1823,  Sir  Charles  Bagot,  British  Ambassador  to 
Russia,  received  his  instructions  from  Mr.  George  Canning,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Foreign  Office,  in  relation  to  the  Russian  Ukase  of 
182 1,  and  in  relation  to  establishing  a  boundary  line  between  the 
Russian  and  British  possessions  in  Northwest  America. 

On  the  19th  of  August,  1823,  i^  ^i^  letter  to  Mr.  George  Can- 
ning, he  wrote  that  he  had  informed  Count  Nesselrode  ' '  that  our 
pretentions  had,  I  believed,  always  extended  to  the  59th  degree  of 
north  latitude,  but  that  a  line  of  demarcation  drawn  at  the  57th 
degree  would  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  us,  and  that  I  believed  the 
Russian  Government  had  in  fact  no  Settlements  to  the  southward 
of  that  line."* 

But  he  was  in  doubt  about  the  last  assertion  ' '  as  the  Russian 
Settlement  of  Sitka,  to  which  I  am  told  the  Russian  Government 
pretends  to  attach  great  importance  is  not  laid  down  very  precisely 
in  the  map  published  in  1802  in  the  Quartermaster-General's 
Department  here,  or  laid  down  at  all  in  that  of  Arrowsmith,  which 
has  been  furnished  to  me  from  the  Foreign  Office." 

We  continue  to  follow  Sir  Charles'  proposition  in  his  letters  to 
Mr,  Canning.  He  says  he  had  two  interviews  with  M.  Poletica 
"upon  the  subject  of  territorial  boundary  as  it  regarded  ourselves, 
and  I  then  gave  him  to  understand  that  the  British  Government 
would,  I  thought,  be  satisfied  to  take  Cross  Sound,  lying  about 
the  latitude  of  57^°,  as  the  boundary  line  between  the  two 
Powers  on  the  Coast,  and  a  meridian  line  drawn  from  the 
head  of  Lynn  Canal,  as  it  is  laid  down  on  Arrowsmith' s  last 
Map,  or  about  the  135th  degree  of  west  longitude,  as  the  boundary 
in  the  interior  of  the  continent,  "f  Then  he  acknowledges  that 
he  had  "put  in  a  claim  to  something  more  than  I  am  instructed  to 
do  in  your  despatch  above  referred  to,  [because]  I  thought  that  it 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :    Volume  IV,  page  409. 
t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :     Volume  IV,  page  412. 


6o  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

might  be  for  the  advantage  of  the  negotiation  if  I  reserved  the 
proposition  of  the  57th  degree  to  a  later  period  of  it,  and,  judging 
from  the  Map,  it  appeared  to  me  that  it  might  be  desirable  to 
obtain,  if  possible,  the  whole  group  of  islands  extending  along 
the  coast."* 

He  had  been  instructed  to  propose  the  parallel  of  57°  as  a 
boundary  line.  The  maps  in  their  possession  did  not  have  Sitka 
located  thereon;  it  was  founded  after  Vancouver's  time. 

Both  propositions  were  in  direct  conflict  with  the  rights  of  dis- 
covery and  of  continuous  occupation,  but  the  prize  was  worth 
contending  for. 

Cross  Sound  is  in  latitude  58°  10'  and  the  distance,  direction  and 
waters  thence  to  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  were  not  described;  as 
happened  later  on  between  Cape  Muzon  and  the  entrance  to 
Portland  Canal,  in  Article  III,  paragraph  two  of  the  Convention 
of  1825. 

Sitka  is  in  latitude  57°  03'  and  had  been  the  center  of  trade 
and  exploration  through  the  Archipelago;  and  seventeen  years 
before,  Governor  Baranof  had  extended  the  Company's  operations 
to  Lower  California  in  latitude  28°,  and  had  built  the  fortified  estab- 
lishment at  Fort  Ross,  only  forty-two  minutes  of  latitude  north 
of  the  Golden  Gate  at  San  Francisco. 

Sir  Charles  then  proposed  the  line  from  Christian  Sound 
"through  Chatham  Straits  to  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal,  thence 
north-west  to  the  140th  degree  of  longitude  west  of  Greenwich  and 
thence  along  that  degree  of  longitude  to  the  Polar  Sea." 
That  would  have  deprived  Russia  of  two-thirds  of  the  Archi- 
pelago. Chatham  Strait  runs  almost  north  to  the  head  of  Lynn 
Canal  in  a  direct  line  two  hundred  and  twenty  geographical  miles. 
The  Russian  Plenipotentaries  rejected  this  and  would  yield  noth- 
ing north  of  54°  40',  which  was  only  forty  miles  south  from  Chiri- 
kof 's  landfall  of  1741,  and  the  highland  ot  which  cape  (Muzon) 
he  could  have  seen.  They  proposed  that  from  the  southern  ex- 
tremity of  Prince  of  Wales  Island  the  line  should  ' '  follow  Portland 
Channel   up  to  the  mountains  which  border  the  coast,"  thence 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :    Volume  IV,  page  413. 


RUSSIA   INFLEXIBLE.  6l 

"ascend  along  these  mountains  parallel  to  the  sinuosities  of  the 
coast  as  far  as  139°,  and  thence  northward."  *  They  were  inflexi- 
ble; they  had  withdrawn  their  claims  from  the  parallel  of  51  de- 
grees, and  then  stood  for  their  unimpeachable  rights  of  discovery, 
usage  and  occupation. 

It,  therefore,  became  a  matter  of  concern  what  should  be  the 
breadth  of  the  lisiere  or  coast-strip.  Mr.  George  Canning  sug- 
gested that  south  of  the  head  of  "Lynn's  Harbour"  it  might  be 
expedient  to  assign  an  eastern  "limit  of  fifty  or  one  hundred  miles 
from  the  coast,"  f  as  proposed  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  but 
on  no  account  would  he  admit  * '  the  Russian  territory  to  extend  to 
any  point  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. ' '  Should  he  make  that  con- 
cession, it  would  form  a  complete  interruption  between  the  British 
territor>'  south  of  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  and  their  possessions  to 
the  eastward  of  longitude  135°  along  the  course  of  the  Mackenzie 
River. 

The  Russian  Plenipotentaries  still  persisted  in  their  last  conces- 
sion of  the  adoption  of  the  lisiere,  and  Sir  Charles  made  the  extra- 
ordinary plea  that  such  Russian  ownership  of  the  border  would 
deprive  Great  Britain  of  the  sovereignty  of  all  the  inlets  and  bays 
along  the  Continental  shore  of  the  Archipelago,  ' '  whereof  several 
(as  there  is  every  reason  to  believe)  communicate  directly  with  the 
establishments  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  consequently 
of  essential  importance  to  its  commerce."  J  The  Vancouver  charts 
certainly  contravene  such  a  bold  claim.  That  explorer  had  exam- 
ined every  inlet  along  the  Continental  shore  of  the  whole  coast 
for  a  Northeast  passage;  and,  moreover,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany had  no  establishment  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  nor  did 
any  of  their  Factors  know  the  extent,  location  or  character  of  that 
range.  Furthermore,  Great  Britain  had  never  put  forward  a 
claim  of  sovereignty  to  that  region;  Spain  and  Russia  antedated 
her  explorers. 

Then  Sir  Charles  oiBfered  to  accept  a  line  traced  northwestwardly 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :  Volume  IV,  page  427. 
t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :  Volume  IV,  page  421. 
J  Prof.  Moore's  paper,  page  510. 


62  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  "along  the  middle  of  the  channel 
which  separates  Prince  of  Wales  and  Duke  of  York  Islands  from 
all  the  islands  situated  to  the  north  of  the  said  islands  until  it 
touches  the  mainland."  This  easterly  strait  between  Zarembo 
Island  (part  of  Duke  of  York  Island)  on  the  south,  and  Kupreanof 
and  Mitkof  Islands  on  the  north,  was  not  named  by  Vancouver, 
and  is  not  named  on  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  chart  8050  of 
1895.  It  is  twenty-five  miles  long  to  Fort  Wrangell,  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Stakheen. 

The  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  refused  these  terms,  and  adhered 
to  the  Portland  Canal  as  their  ultimatum.  They  were  determined 
to  control  the  Archipelago  and  the  Continental  shore,  and  as  the 
breadth  of  the  lisiere  had  not  been  determined  upon,  they  offered 
as  a  compromise  to  prolong  the  lisiere  from  beyond  the  head  of 
Lynn  Canal  to  the  140th  meridian  instead  of  the  139th.  Con- 
cerning this  Count  Nesselrode  in  his  instructions  to  the  Russian 
Ambassador,  Prince  Lieven,  at  London,  declared,  "  Russia  cannot 
stretch  her  concession  further.  She  will  make  no  others;"  April 
17th,  1824;  (Moore,  page  511);  and  he  significantly  adds,  "It 
cannot  be  reiterated  with  sufficient  positiveness,  that,  according 
to  the  most  recent  charts,  England  possesses  no  establishment 
either  up  to  the  latitude  of  Portland  Channel,  or  on  the  shore  of 
the  ocean  itself." 

At  this  point  of  the  diplomatic  negotiations,  Sir  Charles  Bagot 
was  relieved  and  Mr.  Stratford  Canning  appointed  Ambassador  at 
St.  Petersburg. 

Then  followed  propositions  by  both  of  the  Plenipotentiaries  as 
to  the  breadth  of  the  lisiere,  and  finally  that  of  Mr.  Canning  was 
adopted.  This  was  to  follow  "the  crest  of  the  mountains  in  a 
direction  parallel  to  the  coast,"  (Moore,  page  512)  but  should  the 
mountains  be  found  beyond  ten  leagues  from  the  coast,  then  the 
boundary  was  to  be  "a  line  parallel  to  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast, 
so  that  the  line  of  demarcation  shall  not  be  anywhere  more  than 
ten  leagues  from  the  coast."     (Moore,  page  512.) 

These  conditions  formed  the  basis  of  that  part  of  the  Convention 
of    1825    which    relates    to   the   sovereignty  of  the    Archipelago 


IGNORANCE   OF   THE   GEOGRAPHY   OF   ALASKA.  63 

Alexander  and  the  lisi^re  from  Portland  Canal  to  the  meridian  of 
141  degrees.  It  was  evidently  satisfactory  to  each  of  the  rival  fur 
trading  companies.  Judge  Glass  says,  page  553,  "The  delay 
might  have  been  and  doubtless  was,  partly  owing  to  the  interfer- 
ence and  influence  of  the  Russian-American  Company  of  St. 
Petersburg,  and  the  Hudson  Bay  Company  of  London,  and  by 
many  other  causes. "  Mr.  George  Canning  had  admitted  that  he 
consulted  the  latter  Company. 

In  this  connection  we  may  here  refer  to  the  knowledge  which 
the  Plenipotentiaries  of  the  two  countries  had  of  the  geography  of 
the  region  then  under  dispute. 

The  Hon.  David  Glass,  Q.  C,  in  his  reply  to  the  article  upon 
"The  Alaskan  Boundary"  by  Professor  J.  B.  Moore,  formerly 
Assistant  Secretary  of  State,  takes  exception  to  the  expression  that 
the  negotiators,  instead  of  attending  to  geographic  details, 
adopted  general  rules,  and  asserts  that  "Count  Nesselrode  and 
George  Canning  were  men  of  the  highest  attainments;  they  had 
full  knowledge  of  the  coast  (as  admitted  by  Mr.  Moore)  and  this 
was  the  only  part  about  which  there  was  any  negotiation,  on  one 
side  or  the  other. ' '  * 

We  admit  their  undoubted  ability,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact  neither 
of  them  had  any  special  knowledge  of  the  geographical  details  of 
that  region.  The  Russian  Ambassador  must  have  known  more 
from  the  records  of  the  Russian  American  Company  than  the 
British  Ambassador  could  possibly  learn  from  other  sources. 
Beyond  that  the  sum  of  their  knowledge  was,  necessarily,  gathered 
from  Vancouver's  charts  and  probably  from  his  narrative.  The 
charts  formed  a  graphic  and  unique  condensation  of  his  volumes  of 
clear  narration,  and  the  ' '  highest  attainments ' '  of  the  Ambassa- 
dors could  not  surpass  the  geographical  knowledge  of  the  great 
navigator  and  explorer.  They  were  ignorant  of  the  Chilkaht 
River,  of  the  extension  of  Taiya  Inlet  beyond  Vancouver's  Lynn 
Canal,  and  of  the  great  arms  that  stretched  inland  from  Snettis- 
ham   and  Holkhara   Bays.      Neither   they,    nor   Vancouver,    nor 


*  Prof.  Moore's  article  in  North  American  Review,  October,  1899. 
Judge  Glass'  article  in  the  Anglo-American  Magazine,  December,  1899. 


64 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 


Whidbey,  nor  Johnstone,  knew  of  the  existence  of  the  Stakheen. 
The  Plenipotentiaries  knew  of  the  mountains  only  from  Van- 
couver's Narrative  and  Charts,  and  it  is  not  improbable  they  may 
have  deemed  them  the  western  flank  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  extent  of  Mr.  George  Canning's  geographical  knowledge 
may  be  drawn  from  Mr.  Stapleton's  biography,  page  120.  "  The 
claims  of  strict  right  should  be  provisionally  waived  by  both 
Parties,  and  that  the  adjustment  should  be  made  with  the  sole 
principle  of  their  mutual  convenience.  That,  of  Great  Britain,  on 
the  one  hand,  required  the  posts  on  the  Continent  belonging  to  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  embouchures  of  such  rivers  as  aflforded 
an  outlet  for  the  British  trade  into  the  Pacifick,  and  the  two  banks 
of  the  Mackenzie  River." 

And  it  is  well  to  quote  still  further  from  Judge  Glass,  page  551: 
' '  The  actual  geographical  features  of  the  territory  were,  to  a  great 
extent,  unknown.  Vancouver  had  navigated  and  charted  the 
coast,  but  the  interior  was  unexplored.  *  *  *  j^  ^^  ^gjl 
known,  however,  to  the  negotiators  of  the  convention  in  1825, 
that  the  mountain  ranges  might  be  broken  or  that,  instead  of  fol- 
lowing closely  the  windings  of  the  coast,  they  might  extend  far 
inland. "  *  *  *  "  The  facts  are  that  the  treaty  makers  knew 
that  there  were  no  mountain  ranges,  and  therefore  the  treaty  directs 
that  the  line  shall  follow  '  the  summits  of  the  mountains  situated 
parallel  to  the  coast;'  "  and  on  page  553,  he  says,  "there  is  no  doubt 
that  the  interior  was  unknown  at  the  time,  so  little,  indeed,  that 
men  of  prominence  and  learning  at  that  period  had  no  accurate 
knowledge  of  it.  George  Canning,  in  his  first  instructions  to 
Sir  Charles  Bagot,  guarded  him  against  allowing  the  line  to  go  as 
far  east  as  the  Rocky  Mountains."  Judge  Glass  misquotes  summits 
for  summit;  thereby  conveying  an  erroneous  meaning. 


THE  VIEWS  OF  MR.  GEORGE  CANNING  AND  MR. 
STRATFORD  CANNING  UPON   THE   NEGO- 
TIATIONS.—PART  OF   THE   INSIDE 
HISTORY. 


The  foregoing  condensed  statement  of  the  progress  and  termina- 
tion of  the  negotiations  may  well  be  supplemented  and  elucidated 
by  the  opinions  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Foreign  Office,  Right 
Honourable  George  Canning,  and  of  Right  Honourable  Stratford 
Canning,  Ambassador  to  Russia,  as  published  by  Augustus  Gran- 
ville Stapleton,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Stanley  Lane-Poole,  respectively. 

We  begin  with  those  of  Mr.  George  Canning  as  expressed  by 
Mr.  Stapleton  in  his  Political  Life^  Volume  III,  page  144  et  seq.  * 

'■'' North- West  Coast  0/ America.  The  Negotiations  carried  on 
under  Mr.  Canning's  directions  on  the  subject  of  the  North- West 
Coast  of  America,  grew  out  of  the  Ukase,  already  mentioned, 
which  was  issued  by  the  Russian  Government  in  September, 
1821." 

The  biographer  then  explains  the  condition  of  the  relations  of 
Great  Britain,  Russia  and  the  United  States,  "the  only  three 
Powers  who  had  any  territorial  claim  on  the  coast. ' ' 

"The  exact  limits  of  the  territorial  possessions  of  either  of  the 
three  parties  had  never  been  accurately  defined."  (Page  115.) 
*  *  *  "  The  importance  of  these  Coasts  consisted  in  their  ex- 
tensive fisheries,  and  the  trade  in  furs,  which  was  carried  on  with 
the  inhabitants — advantages  which  up  to  this  time  had  been  com- 
mon to  the  three  Powers.  The  most  southern  Settlement  of  Rus- 
sia on  the  coast,  or  rather  on  an  island  close  by  the  coast,  was 
Sitka,  in  latitude  67°  N."  [should  be  57°].     (Page  115.) 

*  The  Political  Life  of  the  Right  Honourable  George  Canning,  from  his  accept- 
ance of  the  Seals  of  the  Foreign  Department,  in  September  1822,  to  the  period  of 
his  death  in  August,  1827.  *  *  *  By  his  private  Secretary,  Augustus  Granville 
Stapleton,  Esq.  Second  edition  *  *  *  in  three  volumes.  London,  printed 
for  Longman,  Rees,  Orme  Brown,  and  Green,  Paternoster  Row.  1831.  See  Vol- 
ume III,  pages  1 14-126,  North- West  Coast  of  America. 


66  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

' '  This  was  the  condition  of  affairs  when  the  Ukase  in  question 
made  its  appearance;  in  which  document  the  Emperor  of  Russia 
indirectly  asserted  an  exclusive  right  of  sovereignty  from  Behring's 
Straits  to  the  51st  degree  of  North  latitude,  on  the  West  Coast  of 
America,  and  to  the  45th  degree  North  on  the  opposite  coast  of 
Asia,  and  (as  a  qualified  exercise  of  that  right)  prohibited  all  for- 
eign ships,  under  pain  of  confiscation,  from  approaching  within 
one  hundred  Italian  miles  of  those  coasts."     (Page  116.) 

' '  By  this  Ukase,  therefore,  Russia  appropriated  to  herself  many 
degrees  of  latitude,  in  which  were  actually  established  posts  be- 
longing to  the  servants  of  the  British  Hudson's  Bay  Company; 
extended  Her  territorial  rights  over  the  adjacent  seas  to  an  unpre- 
cedented distance,  and  closed  a  previously  unobstructed  passage 
(Behring's  Straits)  at  the  very  moment  when  it  happened  to  be  the 
object  of  important  discoveries  for  the  promotion  of  the  general 
commerce  and  navigation  of  the  World."     (Page  116,) 

It  is  well  to  notice  here  that  Russia  had  extended  her  territorial 
claims  on  the  Northwest  Coast  from  latitude  54°  40'  to  latitude  51°, 
thereby  covering  all  the  islands  and  channels  to  a  little  north  of 
the  Island  of  Vancouver;  and  Great  Britain,  represented  by  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  had  no  trading  stations  between  these 
parallels.  Nor  could  Bering  Strait  ofier  inducements  "for  the 
promotion  of  the  general  commerce  and  navigation  of  the  World, ' ' 
except  by  the  discovery  of  a  northwest  passage  between  the  At- 
lantic and  the  Pacific. 

The  Ukase  had  aroused  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
to  protest  against  having  their  vessels  driven  from  the  fur  trade  of 
the  North  Pacific,  and  both  Governments  at  first  agreed  to  amicably 
prevail  upon  Russia  to  withdraw  her  pretentions  to  the  control  of 
the  coasts  and  waters  indicated  in  that  document.  Mr.  Canning  in 
his  correspondence  asserts  that  Russia  had  given  orders  to  her 
officers  that  the  terms  of  the  Ukase  should  not  be  carried  out. 

The  conferences  between  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States  and  Great  Britain  soon  indicated  that  they  could  not 
work  in  harmony.  Mr.  Canning  says  that  ' '  in  the  negotiations 
there  was   betrayed   on    the    part   of  the  United  States   a  secret 


THE   BOUNDARY   A   SECONDARY   CONSIDERATION.  67 

partiality  for  the  Russian  side  of  the  question,  ill  adapted  for  the 
purpose  of  joint  occupation,"  which  had  been  proposed;  and, 
furthermore,  the  "notion  of  cooperation  entertained  by  the 
American  Government  extended  to  the  territorial  as  well  as  mari- 
time division  of  the  question."  (Page  118.)  In  another  place  he 
writes:  "  By  a  Memorandum  which  I  have  received  from  Mr. 
Rush  of  what  his  Government  would  propose  as  a  general  settle- 
ment, it  appears  that  latitude  55°  is  the  point  which  the  United 
States  likewise  have  proposed  for  that  same  line  of  demarcation. 

"  This  coincidence  certainly  argues  either  a  foregone  under- 
standing between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  or  a  disposition  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States  to  countenance  and  promote  what 
they  know  to  be  the  desire  of  Russia. ' '  * 

Mr.  Canning  seemed  to  think  that  ' '  the  novel  and  extraordinary 
doctrine ' '  enunciated  in  the  ' '  Speech  of  the  President  ot  the 
United  States  [James  Monroe],  at  the  opening  of  Congress 
in  December  1823,  [wherein]  it  was  laid  down  as  a  principle 
that  the  United  States  prohibited  any  further  attempt  by  Euro- 
pean Powers  at  colonization  in  America,  *  *  *  seemed  in- 
tended as  a  set-oflf  against  the  equally  untenable  proposition  on 
the  subject  of  maritime  rights  put  forth  by  Russia  in  Her  Ukase 
of  1 82 1."  (Page  119.)  Mr.  Canning  declares  that  the  opposite 
pretensions  of  the  two  Powers  were  so  extravagant  "as  to  be  the 
subject,  not  so  much  of  practical  adjustment,  as  of  reciprocal  dis- 
avowal."    (Page  119.) 

"It  was  for  these  reasons  that  Mr.  Canning  instructed  Sir 
Charles  Bagot,  our  Ambassador  in  Russia,  to  treat  alone  with  the 
Imperial  Government."     (Page  119.) 

And  in  the  following  quotations  we  find  revealed  the  main  ob- 
ject for  which  the  Convention  was  inaugurated.  The  boundary 
on  the  Continent  was  ' '  a  secondary  consideration. ' ' 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  no  trading  posts  west  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  in  these  latitudes,  but  should  they  ever  cross 
that  range,  then  it  would  be  well  to  have  access  to  the  Pacific  by 


*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Volume  IV,  page  417.     Mr.  George  Canning  to  Sir 
C.  Bagot,  January  I5tli,  1824. 


68  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

the  streams  supposed  to  reach  that  ocean  or  the  Arctic.  It  is  not 
improbable  that  Russia  might  have  claimed  and  received  territo- 
rial rights  to  the  Rocky  Mountains  had  she  made  that  a  sine  qua 
non^  or  even  to  the  Mackenzie  River. 

"The  principal  object  of  the  negotiation  was  to  obtain  a  recorded 
disavowal  from  Russia  of  the  maritime  pretensions  advanced  in 
the  Ukase.  And  then,  (but  this  was  a  secondary  consideration)  to 
settle  some  line  of  demarcation  between  the  respective  territories  of 
the  two  countries,  the  settlement  of  which  would  furnish  the  Rus- 
sian Government  with  a  fitting  opportunity  for  making  the  dis- 
avowal in  question.      (Pages  1 19-120.) 

* '  On  the  first  point  the  Russian  Ministers  professed  to  entertain 
no  difficulty,  all  therefore  that  it  was  necessary  to  do  was  to  de- 
cide upon  the  mode  of  dividing  the  territory.  For  this  end  it  was 
agreed,  as  the  basis  on  which  the  negotiation  should  be  conducted, 
that  the  claims  of  strict  right  should  be  provisionally  waived  by 
both  Parties,  and  that  the  adjustment  should  be  made  upon  the 
sole  principle  of  their  mutual  convenience.  That,  of  Great  Brit- 
ain, on  the  one  hand,  required  the  posts  on  the  Continent  belong- 
ing to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  the  embouchures  of  such  rivers 
as  afforded  an  outlet  for  the  British  trade  into  the  Pacifick,  and 
the  two  banks  of  the  Mackenzie  River;  on  the  other,  that  of  Rus- 
sia induced  Her  to  wish  to  secure  to  Herself  Her  Fisheries  upon 
the  islands  and  shores  of  the  North-West  Coast,  and  the  posts 
which  she  might  have  already  established  on  them.  Notwith- 
standing that  upon  this  basis  there  seemed  little  probability  of  any 
difficulties  arising,  the  first  propositions  brought  forward  by  Sir 
Charles  were  not  accepted  by  Russia,  and  His  Excellency  was  com- 
pelled to  apply  to  His  Government  for  a  more  extended  discretion. ' ' 
(Page  120.) 

The  reason  for  the  rejection  is  readily  understood  from  the  letters 
of  Sir  Charles  which  we  have  already  quoted.  He  first  wanted 
the  whole  Archipelago  to  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  and  thence  to 
the  Arctic,  just  west  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mackenzie  River;  next, 
he  proposed  the  line  through  Chatham  Strait  to  the  head  of  L>'nn 
Canal  and  thence  northwestwardly  to  the  140th  meridian  at  about 


ENGLAND   WANTS   THE    ARCHIPELAGO   ALEXANDER.  69 

latitude  60*  50'.  Chatham  Strait  is  the  great  highway  running 
directly  north  for  over  two  hundred  miles  through  the  Archipelago 
Alexander,  and  leaves  two-thirds  of  it  to  the  eastward.  Such  a 
boundary  line  would  have  g^ven  all  the  eastern  continental  shore  to 
Great  Britain, 

Pending  this  negotiation,  the  American  Minister,  Mr.  Henry 
Middleton,  succeeded  in  bringing  to  a  satisfactory  termination  with 
Russia,  the  Convention  of  1824-25. 

With  increased  discretion  in  his  instructions,  Sir  Charles  Bagot 
proposed  another  line  of  demarcation  to  enter  the  Archipelago 
through  the  western  entrance  of '  'Duke  of  Clarence's  Strait' '  of  Van- 
couver, latitude  55°  49'  (the  Sumner  Strait  of  the  Coast  Sur\^ey 
charts),  thence  through  the  unnamed  channel  on  the  north  of 
"  Duke  of  York's  Island"  (Zarembo  of  to-day),  and  thence  into  the 
interior  by  way  of  the  Stakheen,  which  was  not  at  that  time  laid 
down  on  any  chart.  This  line  would  have  given  Great  Britain 
more  than  one-third  of  the  Archipelago,  and  more  than  one-third 
of  the  Continental  shore.  His  last  proposition  was  to  enter  the 
Archipelago  from  Dixon  Entrance  east  of  Cape  Chacon,  ascend 
the  "Duke  of  Clarence's  Strait"  to  the  northeast  turn  thereof, 
thence  along  the  previous  line  proposed  eastward  to  the   Stakheen. 

The  last  three  lines  are  laid  down  upon  the  chart  prepared  in 
the  office  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  and 
exhibited  in  Mr.  Balch's  paper  of  1903;  the  earlier  propositions 
are  overlooked.  (Our  copy  of  the  above  chart  affords  no  state- 
ment of  its  authority.     We  obtained  it  this  year.) 

We  return  to  IMr.  Stapleton's  biography.  In  speaking  of  the 
Convention  between  Russia  and  the  United  States,  he  says  (page 
121):  "By  Article  3.  Russia  bound  herself  not  to  form  any 
establishment  lower  than  54°  40'  North,  and  the  United  States  not 
higher  than  that  parallel  of  latitude. 

"The  boundaries  desired  by  Russia  beyond  what  Sir  Charles 
had  been  authorized  to  agree  to,  did  not  in  any  way  materially 
affect  the  interests  of  this  Country.  He  was  therefore  instructed 
to  consent,  with  some  trifling  modifications,  to  the  line  of  de- 
marcation for  which  Russia  contended.      But  in   return  for  this 


70  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

concession  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  certain  points  as  to  the 
navigation  of  Behring's  Straits,  and  as  to  privileges  of  trading, 
were  to  be  stipulated  for,  which  had  not  been  contemplated  in  for- 
mer discussions,  but  nevertheless  were  not  considered  to  be  of  the 
nature  at  all  unfavorable  to  Russian  interests.  Upon  these  points, 
however,  the  negotiations  were  broken  oflf.  Whether  the  com- 
plaints of  the  Russian  Company  against  the  convention  with  Amer- 
ica made  the  Plenipotentiaries  more  difficult  to  please,  or  whatever 
else  might  be  the  cause,  they  remained  inflexible;  and  Sir  Charles 
Bagot,  who  was  about  to  return  to  England,  was  allowed  to  quit 
St.  Petersburgh,  in  the  beginning  of  September,  1824,  without 
the  conclusion  of  any  definitive  arrangement.  This,  however,  was 
not  a  state  of  things  with  which  Great  Britain  could  remain  con- 
tented. The  indefinite  postponement  of  an  adjustment  of  the  ter- 
ritorial limits  was  a  matter  of  little  moment;  but  the  settlement 
of  the  maritime  part  of  the  question  She  could  not  submit  much 
longer  to  defer."     (Page  122.) 

It  would  appear  from  these  contentions  that  Sir  Charles  had 
been  proposing  an  extreme  northerly  latitude  and  an  extreme  east- 
erly meridian  to  offset  the  Russian  claim  to  51°.  The  Russian 
settlement  was  at  New  Archangel  or  Sitka  in  latitude  57°  03';  and 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  no  settlement  in  that  region  as 
high  as  51°.  Mackenzie,  traveling  south  and  west,  from  the  river 
of  his  name,  had  reached  the  waters  of  Burke's  Canal,  about  lati- 
tude 52°  20',  in  July,  1793,  but  did  not  see  the  Pacific,  and  retraced 
part  of  his  route.  (Vancouver  had  been  in  these  waters  June  i, 
1793.  Volume  II,  page  264.)  No  other  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
explorer  had  examined  the  country. 

Mr.  Stapleton  continues:  "Mr,  Stratford  Canning  was  therefore 
sent,  shortly  after  Sir  Charles  Bagot' s  return,  on  a  special  mission 
to  St.  Petersburgh  for  the  purpose  of  bringing  to  a  speedy  conclu- 
sion these  long  protracted  discussions. 

' '  Mr.  Stratford  Canning  was  instructed  to  propose  such  altera- 
tions as  were  in  accordance  with  those  views  of  Russia,  which 
were  reasonable.  If,  however,  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries 
should  continue  to  be  dissatisfied  with   the  propositions  of  Great 


THE  CONVENTION  SIGNED.  7 1 

Britain,  Mr.  Stratford  Canning  was  to  be  at  liberty  to  agree  to  an 
article  stipulating  to  negotiate  hereafter  respecting  the  territorial 
limits;  but  Mr.  [George]  Canning  considered  it  essential  that 
Russia  should  in  some  way  repeal  '  Her  unjustifiable  arrogation  of 
exclusive  jurisdiction  over  an  Ocean  of  unmeasured  extent;'  which 
if  the  Russian  Government  would  not  do,  then  Great  Britain  would 
resort  to  some  mode  of  recording  in  the  face  of  the  world  Her 
protest  against  the  pretensions  of  the  Ukase  of  1821,  and  of 
eflfectually  securing  Her  own  interests  against  the  possibility  of 
its  future  operations. 

* '  For  such  protest,  however,  there  was  fortunately  no  occasion. 
On  the  28th  of  February,  1825,  Mr.  Stratford  Canning  signed 
with  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  a  Convention,  of  which  the 
following  is  the  outline: 

* '  The  first  two  Articles  were  in  every  respect  similar  to  the  first 
two,  already  described,  as  being  in  the  convention  between  Russia 
and  the  United  States.  The  third,  laid  down  the  line  of  demarca- 
tion, which  was  to  commence  from  the  Southernmost  point  of 
Prince  of  Wales's  Island  in  54°  40'  N.  latitude,  between  the  131st 
and  133d  degree  of  W.  longitude,  and  to  ascend  to  the  North 
along  Portland  Channel,  as  far  as  the  point  of  the  Continent  where 
it  would  strike  the  56th  degree  of  N.  latitude;  thence  it  was  to 
follow  the  summit  of  the  mountains  situated  parallel  to  the  Coast, 
as  far  as  the  point  of  intersection  of  the  141st  degree  of  W.  longi- 
tude, and  thence  along  that  meridian  line  was  to  be  prolonged  to 
the  Frozen  Ocean. 

"The  4th  Article,  explained  the  third,  as  giving  the  whole 
Prince  of  Wales's  Island  to  Russia;  and  when  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  should  exceed  ten  marine  leagues  from  the  Coast,  then 
the  boundary  was  to  be  formed  by  a  line,  drawn  parallel  to  the 
windings  of  the  Coast,  at  the  distance  of  ten  marine  leagues.  , 

"The  5th  Article  bound  the  two  contracting  Parties  not  to  form 
establishments  within  the  limits  respectively  assigned  to  the 
possessions  of  the  other. 

"The  6th  gave  to  Great  Britain  the  privilege  of  navigating 
freely  all  the  rivers  and  streams  which  in  their  course  towards  the 


72  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Pacifick,  might  cross  the  strip  of  land  on  the  Coast  assigned  to 
Russia. 

"The  7th  mutually  conceded  the  right  of  trading  with  the  re- 
spective possessions  of  each  other  for  a  period  of  ten  years. 

' '  The  8th  opened  the  port  of  Sitka  to  the  commerce  and  vessels 
of  British  subjects  for  the  same  period,  and  provided  that  in  case 
an  extension  of  the  term  be  granted  to  any  other  Power,  the  same 
extension  should  be  granted  to  Great  Britain. 

"The  four  remaining  Articles  regulate  some  minor  points  which 
are  not  of  sufficient  importance  to  be  detailed. 

"By  this  Convention  Great  Britain  secured  for  Herself,  as  far 
as  Russia  was  concerned,  all  that  was  important  for  Her  commer- 
cial interests."     (Pages  1 21-125.) 

Then  follow  some  remarks  upon  the  '  *  extravagant  principle  al- 
ready mentioned  as  put  forth  by  the  President,  that  no  part  of  the 
American  Continent  was  thenceforward  to  be  open  to  colonization 
from  Europe." 

The  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  brought  out  further  of  Mr.  George 
Canning's  letters,  and  we  introduce  extracts  from  one  written  De- 
cember 8th,  1824,  addressed  to  Mr.  Stratford  Canning.  His  lan- 
guage is  plain  and  emphatic. 

"The  whole  negotiation  grows  out  of  the  Ukase  of  1821." 

' '  So  entirely  and  absolutely  true  is  this  proposition  that  the  set- 
tlement of  the  limits  of  the  respective  possessions  of  Great  Britain 
and  Russia  on  the  north-west  coast  of  America  was  proposed  by 
us  only  as  a  mode  of  facilitating  the  adjustment  of  the  difference 
arising  from  the  Ukase  by  enabling  the  Court  of  Russia,  under 
cover  of  the  more  comprehensive  arrangement,  to  withdraw,  with 
less  appearance  of  concession  the  offensive  pretension  of  that  Edict. 

"It  is  comparatively  indifferent  to  us  whether  we  hasten  or  post- 
pone all  questions  respecting  the  limits  of  territorial  possession  on 
the  Continent  of  America,  but  the  pretensions  of  the  Russian 
Ukase  of  1821  to  exclusive  dominion  over  the  Pacific  could  not 
continue  longer  unrepealed  without  compelling  us  to  take  some 
measure  of  public  and  effectual  remonstrance  against  it. "  * 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Volume  IV,  page  446. 


THE   BOUNDARY   QUESTION    A    MASK.  73 

And  in  the  same  note  Mr.  George  Canning  continues:  "It  is 
not  on  our  part  a  negotiation  about  limits. 

'*It  is  a  demand  of  the  repeal  of  an  offensive  and  unjustifiable 
arrogance  of  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  an  area  of  unmeasured 
extent;  but  a  demand  qualified  and  mitigated  in  its  manner,  in 
order  that  its  justice  may  be  acknowledged  and  satisfied  without 
soreness  or  humiliation  on  the  part  of  Russia. 

' '  We  negotiate  about  territory  to  cover  the  remonstrance  upon 
principle. ' '     (Pages  448-49. ) 

The  testimony  of  Mr.  Stapleton  was  fortified  fifty-seven  years 
later  by  that  of  Mr.  Stanley  Lane-Poole  in  his  life  of  the  Right 
Honourable  Stratford  Canning.*  Sandwiched  between  his  recital 
of  Mr.  Canning's  diplomatic  services  at  St.  Petersburg  in  the 
Grecian  question  of  that  day,  there  is  a  short  reference  to  his  action 
in  the  matter  of  the  Russian-Canadian  boundary.  There  are  no 
details  therein,  but  it  reiterates  the  main  object  had  in  view  by 
the  British  Government.  The  boundary  was  a  mere  mask  to 
conceal  the  repeal  of  the  obnoxious  feature  of  the  Ukase  of  1821. 

'  *  Canning  *  *  *  devoted  his  energies  to  the  second  part  of 
his  duty,  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  relating  to  British  and  Russian 
territory  in  North-West  America.  The  object  of  this  instrument 
was  a  good  deal  more  than  a  mere  question  of  boundary,  though 
the  latter  was  made  to  cover  and  mask  the  larger  design.  A 
Russian  Ukase  of  182 1  had  advanced  claims  to  exclusive  maritime 
rights  in  the  Pacific,  and  some  public  repudiation  of  this  inadmis- 
sible pretence  had  to  be  made  on  the  part  of  England. 

' '  This  was  to  be  accomplished  in  a  friendly  and  innocent  manner 
by  the  first  article  of  the  new  boundary  treaty,  in  which  our  mari- 
time and  fishing  rights  in  the  Pacific  were  clearly  maintained. 
The  article  was  debated  by  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries,  Nessel- 
rode  and  Poletica,  but  the  treaty  was  finally  agreed  to,  28  Feb- 
ruary, without  any  material  concession  on  the  side  of  England. ' ' 
(Volume  I,  page  363.) 

This  resume  of  the  negotiations  and  the  reasons  therefor  natur- 
ally leads  to  the  treaties  which  resulted  therefrom.  The  first  is  the 
Convention,  in  full,  between  Russia  and  the  United  States. 

'\  Life  of  the  Ri^ht  Honourable  Stratford  Canning,  Viscount  Stratford  de  Red- 
cliffe,  K.  G.,  G.C.B.,  D.C.L.,  LL.D.,  &c,  from  his  memoirs  and  private  and 
official  papers  by  Stanley  Lane-Poole,  with  three  portraits.  In  two  volumes. 
London  :  Longmans,  Green,  and  Co.,  and  New  York,  15  East  15th  Street,  1S88. 


CONVENTION    BETWEEN   THE    UNITED   STATES   OF 

AMERICA  AND  HIS    MAJESTY  THE   EMPEROR 

OF  ALL  THE  RUSSIAS,  RELATIVE   TO 

NAVIGATING,    FISHING,    ETC., 

IN  THE  PACIFIC  OCEAN.* 

(Concluded  April    17,    1824;    ratifications    exchanged    Jsninary 
II,  1825;  proclaimed  January  12,  1825.) 


(Original) 

Au  nom  de  la   Trls  Sainte   et  bidi- 

visible  Trinite. 

Le  President  des  ^tats  Unis  d' 
Am^rique,  et  Sa  Majesty  I'Empereur 
de  toutes  les  Russies,  voulant  ciment- 
er  les  liens  d'amiti^  qui  les  unissent, 
et  assurer  entre  eux  le  maintien  in- 
variable d'un  parfait  accord,  moyen- 
nant  la  pr^sente  Convention,  ont 
nomm^  pour  leurs  Plenipotentiaires 
&  cet  effet,  savoir:  Le  President  des 
Etats  Unis  d'Amdrique,  le  Sieur 
Henry  Middleton,  citoyen  des  dits 
Etats,  et  leur  Envoy^  Extraordinaire 
et  Ministre  Pl^nipotentiaire  pres  Sa 
Majesty  Imp^riale:  et  Sa  Majesty 
L'Empereur  de  toutes  les  Russies,  ses 
amds  et  f^aux  les  Sieurs  Charles 
Robert  Comte  de  Nesselrode, 
Conseiller  Privd  actuel,  Membre  de 
Council  d'Eitat,  Secretaire  d'Etat 
Dirigeant  le  Ministere  des  affaires 
6trangeres,  Chambellan  actuel,  Chev- 
alier de  I'ordre  de  St.  Alexandre 
Nevsky,  Grand  Croix  de  I'ordre  de 
St.Wladimir  dela  Ireclasse,  Chevalier 
de  celui  de  I'aigle  blanc  de  Pologne, 
Grand  Croix  de  I'ordre  de  St.  Etienne 
d'Hongrie,  Chevalier  des  ordres  du 
St.  Esprit  et  de  St.  Michel  et  Grand 


(Translation) 

In  the   name    of  the  most   holy  and 
indivisible  Trinity. 

The  President  of  the  United  States 
of  America,  and  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  wishing 
to  cement  the  bonds  of  amity  which 
unite  them  and  to  secure  between 
them  the  invariable  maintenance  of  a 
perfect  concord,  by  means  of  the 
present  Convention,  have  named  as 
their  Plenipotentiaries  to  this  efiFect, 
to  wit:  The  President  of  the  United 
States  of  America,  Henry  Middle- 
ton,  a  citizen  of  said  States,  and 
their  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Min- 
ister Plenipotentiary  near  his  Impe- 
rial Majesty:  and  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  his  be- 
loved and  faithful  Charles  Robert 
Count  of  NESSELRODE,  actual  Privy 
Counsellor,  Member  of  the  Council  of 
State,  Secretary  of  State  directing  the 
administration  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
actual  Chamberlain,  Knight  of  the 
order  St.  Alexander  Nevsky,  Grand 
Cross  of  the  order  of  St.  Wladimir  of 
the  first  class,  Knight  of  that  of  the 
White  Eagle  of  Poland,  Grand  Cross  of 
the  order  of  St.  Stephen  of  Hungary, 
Knight  of  the  orders  of  the  Holy  Ghost 


*  Senate,  50th  Congress,  2nd  Session,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  Report  on  the 
Boundarv  Line  between  Alaska  and  British  Columbia.  March  2, 18S9.  Pages  28-31. 


76 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 


Croix  de  celui  de  la  Legion  d'Hon- 
neiir  de  France,  Chevalier  Grand 
Croix  des  ordres  de  I'Aigle  noir  et  de 
I'aigle  rouge  de  Prusse,  de  I'annon- 
ciade  de  Sardaigne,  de  Charles  III 
d'Espagne,  de  St.  Ferdinand  et  du 
m^rite  de  Naples,  de  I'El^phant  de 
Danemarc,  de  I'Etoile  Polaire  de 
Suede,  de  la  Couronne  de  Wurtem- 
berg,  des  Guelphes  de  Hanovre,  du 
Lion  Beige,  de  la  Fid^lit^  de  Bade,  et 
de  St.  Constantin  de  Parme  et  PiERRE 
de  POLETICA,  Conseiller  d'Etat  actuel. 
Chevalier  de  I'ordre  de  St.  Anne  de  la 
Ire  classe  et  Grand  Croix  de  I'ordre 
de  St.  Wladimir  de  la  seconde; 
lesquels  apres  avoir  dchang^  leurs 
pleins  —  pouvoirs,  trouv^s  en  bonne  et 
due  forme,  ont  arrets  etsign^  les  stipu- 
lations suivantes. 


ARTICLE  PREMIER. 
II  est  convenu  que  dans  aucune 
partie  du  grand  oc^an,  appel6  com- 
mun^ment  Oc^an  Pacifique  ou  Mer 
du  Sud,  les  citoyens  ou  sujets  re- 
spestifs  des  hautes  puissances  con- 
tractantes  ne  seront,  ni  troubles,  ni 
gen^s,  soit  dans  la  navigation,  soit 
dans  I'exploitation  de  la  peche,  soit 
dans  la  faculty  d'aborder  aux  cotes 
sur  des  points  que  ne  seroient  pas 
d^ja  occup^s,  afin  d'y  faire  le  com- 
merce avec  les  indigenes,  sauf  toute- 
fois  les  restrictions  et  conditions  d^- 
termin^es  par  les  articles  qui  suivent. 

ARTICLE  DEUXIEME. 
Dans  la  vue  d'empecher  que  les 
droits  de  navigation  et  de  peche  ex- 
erc^s  sur  le  grand  oc^an  par  les 
citoyens  et  sujets  des  hautes  puis- 
sances contractantes  ne  deviennent 
le  pr^texte  d'un  commerce  illicite,  il 
est  convenu,  que  les  citoj'cns  des 
EtatsUnis  n'aborderont  a  aucun  point 
ou   il    se     trouve     un     ^tablissement 


and  of  St.  Michael,  and  Grand  Cross 
of  the  Legion  of  Honor  of  France, 
Knight  Grand  Cross  of  the  orders  of 
the  Black  and  of  the  Red  Eagle  of 
Prussia,  of  the  Annunciation  of  Sar- 
dinia, of  Charles  III.  of  Spain,  of  St. 
Ferdinand  and  of  Merit  of  Naples,  of 
the  Elephant  of  Denmark,  of  the 
Polar  Star  of  Sweden,  of  the  Crown 
of  WirLemberg,  of  the  Guelphs  of 
Hanover,  of  the  Belgic  Lion,  of  Fidel- 
ity of  Baden,  and  of  St.  Constan- 
tine  of  Parma,  and  Pierre  de  Po- 
LETiCA,  actual  Counsellor  of  State, 
Knight  of  the  order  of  St.  Anne  of 
the  first  class,  and  Grand  Cross  of  the 
order  of  St.  Wladimir  of  the  second; 
who,  after  having  exchanged  their 
full  powers,  found  in  good  and  due 
form,  have  agreed  upon,  and  signed, 
the  following  stipulations. 

ARTICLE  FIRST. 
It  is  agreed,  that,  in  any  part  of  the 
Great  Ocean,  commonly  called  the 
Pacific  Ocean  or  South  Sea,  the  respec- 
tive citizens  or  subjects  of  the  high 
contracting  powers  shall  be  neither 
disturbed  nor  restrained  either  in  nav- 
igation, or  in  fishing,  or  in  the  power 
of  resorting  to  the  coasts  upon  points 
which  may  not  already  have  been  oc- 
cupied, for  the  purpose  of  trading 
with  the  natives,  saving  always  the 
restrictions  and  conditions  determined 
by  the  following  articles. 

ARTICLE  SECOND. 
With  the  view  of  preventing  the 
rights  of  navigation  and  of  fishing, 
exercised  upon  the  great  ocean  by  the 
citizens  and  subjects  of  the  high  con- 
tracting powers,  from  becoming  the 
pretext  for  an  illicit  trade,  it  is  agreed, 
that  the  citizens  of  the  United  States 
shall  not  resort  to  any  point  where 
there  is  a  Russian  establishment,  with- 


THE   CONVENTION   OF    1824-25. 


n 


Russe,  sans  la  permission  du  Gou- 
verneur  ou  Commandant;  et  que  r^ci- 
proquement  les  sujets  Russes  ne  pour- 
ront  aborder  sans  permission  a  aucun 
€tablissement  des  Etats-Unis  sur  la 
Cote  nord  ouest. 

ARTICLE  TROISlfeME. 
II  est  convenu  en  outre,  que  dor^- 
navant  il  ne  pourra  etre  form^  par 
les  citoyens  des  Etats-Unis,  ou  sous 
Tautorit^  des  dits  Etats,  aucun  6tab- 
lissement  sur  la  Cote  nord  ouest 
d'Am^rique,  ni  dans  ancune  des  iles 
adjacentes  au  nord  du  cinquante  qua- 
trieme  degr^  et  quarante  minutes  de 
latitude  septentrionale;  et  que  de 
meme  il  n'en  pourra  etre  form^  aucun 
par  des  sujets  Russes,  ou  sous  I'au- 
torit6  de  la  Russie,  au  sud  de  la 
merue  parallele. 

ARTICLE  QUATRlfeME. 

II  est  n^anmoins  entendu  que  pen- 
dant un  terme  de  dix  ann^es  a  comp- 
ter de  la  signature  de  la  pr^sente 
Convention,  les  vaisseaux  de  deux 
Puissances,  ou  qui  appartiendroient 
a  leurs  citoyens  ou  sujets  respectifs, 
pourront  r^ciproquement  frequenter 
sans  entrave  quelconque,  les  mers  in- 
t^rieures,  les  golfes  havres  et  criques 
sur  la  cote  mentionn^e  dans  I'article 
precedent,  afin  d'y  faire  la  peche  et 
le    commerce    avec    les    naturels   du 

pays. 

ARTICLE  cinquie;me. 

Sont  toutefois  except^es  de  ce  meme 
commerce  accord^  par  Particle  prece- 
dent, toutes  les  liqueurs  spiritueuses, 
les  armes  a  feu,  armes  blanches, 
poudre  et  munitions  de  guerre  de 
toute  espece,  que  les  deux  Puissances 
s'engagent  r^ciproquement  a  ne  pas 
vendre,  ni  laisser  vendie  aux  Indi- 
genes par  leurs  citoyens  et  sujets  re- 
spectifs, ni  par  aucun  individu  qui  se 
trouveroit  sous  leur  autorite.  II  est 
egalement  stipule  que  cette  restriction 


out  the  permission  of  the  governor  or 
commander ;  and  that,  reciprocally, 
the  subjects  of  Russia  shall  not  resort, 
without  permission,  to  any  establish- 
ment of  the  United  States  upon  the 
North-west  Coast. 

ARTICLE  third. 

It  is  moreover  agreed,  that  here- 
after there  shall  not  be  formed  by  the 
citizens  of  the  United  States,  or  under 
the  authority  of  the  said  States,  any 
establishment  upon  the  Northwest 
Coast  of  America,  nor  in  any  of  the 
Islands  adjacent,  to  tlie  twrth  of  fifty- 
four  degrees  and  forty  minutes  of 
north  latitude  ;  and  that,  in  the  same 
manner,  there  shall  be  none  formed 
by  Russian  subjects,  or  under  the  au- 
thority of  Russia,  south  of  the  same 
parallel. 

ARTICLE  FOURTH. 

It  is  nevertheless  understood  that 
during  a  term  of  ten  years,  counting 
from  the  signature  of  the  present  con- 
vention, the  ships  of  both  powers,  or 
which  belong  to  their  citizens  or  sub- 
jects respectively,  may  reciprocally 
frequent  without  any  hindrance  what- 
ever, the  interior  seas,  gulphs,  har- 
bours, and  creeks  upon  the  coast  men- 
tioned in  the  preceding  article,  for 
the  purpose  of  fishing  and  trading 
with  the  natives  of  the  country. 

ARTICLE    FIFTH. 

All  spirituous  liquors,  fire-arms, 
other  arms,  powder  and  munitions  of 
war  of  every  kind,  are  always  ex- 
cepted from  this  same  commerce  per- 
mitted by  the  preceding  article,  and 
the  two  powers  engage,  reciprocally, 
neither  to  sell,  nor  suffer  them  to  be 
sold  to  the  natives  by  their  respective 
citizens  and  subjects,  nor  by  any  per- 
son who  may  be  under  their  authority. 
It  is  likewise  stipulated  that  this  re- 
striction shall  never  afford  a  pretext. 


78 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 


ne  pourra  jamais  servir  de  prdtexte, 
ni  etre  a\.l€gn€e  dans  aucun  case,  pour 
autoriser  soit  la  visite  ou  la  detention 
des  Vaisseaux,  soit  la  saisie  de  la 
marchandise,  soit  enfin  des  mesures 
quelconques  de  contrainte  envers  les 
armateurs  ou  les  Equipages  qui 
feroient  ce  commerce;  les  hautes 
Puissances  contractantes  s'^tant  r€- 
ciproquement  reserve  de  statuer  sur 
les  peines  a  encourir,  et  d'infliger  les 
amendes  encourues  en  cas  de  contra- 
vention a  cet  article,  par  leurs  citoyens 
ou  sujets  respectifs. 

ARTICLE  SIXifeME. 
Lorsque  cette  Convention  aura  €t€ 
dument  ratifi^e  par  le  President  des 
Etats  Unis  de  I'avis  et  du  consente- 
ment  du  S^nat,  d'une  part,  et  de 
I'autre  par  Sa  Majeste  L'Empereur  de 
toutes  les  Russies,  les  ratifications  en 
seront  ^chang^es  a  Washington  dans 
le  d^lai  de  dix  mois  de  la  date  ci-des- 
sous  ou  plutot  si  faire  se  peut.  En  foi 
de  quoi  les  Pl^nipotentiaires  re- 
spectifs I'ont  sign^e,  et  y  ont  fait 
apposer  les  cachets  de  leurs  armes. 

Fait  a  St.  P^tersbourg,  le  17  (5)  Avril 
de  I'an  de  gr9.ce  mil  huit  cent  vingt 
quatre. 

Henry  Middleton.  [l.  s.] 

Le  Comte 

Charles  de  Nesselrodl.  [l.  s.] 

Pierre  de  Poletica.         [l.  s.] 


nor  be  advanced,  in  any  cas,  to  au- 
thorize either  search  or  detention  of 
the  vessels,  seizure  of  the  merchan- 
dise, or,  in  fine,  any  measures  of  con- 
straint whatever  towards  the  mer- 
chants or  the  crews  who  may  carry  on 
this  commerce;  the  high  contracting 
Powers  reciprocally  reserving  to  them- 
selves to  determine  upon  the  penal- 
ties to  be  incurred,  and  to  inflict  the 
punishments,  in  case  of  the  contra- 
vention of  this  article,  by  their  re- 
spective citizens  or  subjects. 

ARTICLE    SIXTH. 

When  this  Convention  shall  have 
been  duly  ratified  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  with  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  Senate  on  the  one  part, 
and  on  the  other  by  his  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  the  ratifi- 
cations shall  be  exchanged  at  Wash- 
ington in  the  space  of  ten  months 
from  the  date  below,  or  sooner  if  pos- 
sible. In  faith  whereof  the  respective 
Plenipotentiaries  have  signed  this 
Convention,  and  thereto  affixed  the 
seals  of  their  arms. 

Done  at  St.  Petersburg,  the  17  (5) 
April  of  the  year  of  Grace  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  twenty-four. 

HENRY  MiDDLETON. 
Le  Comte 

Charles  de  Nesselrode. 

Pierre  de  Poletica. 


CONVENTION  BETWEEN  GREAT  BRITAIN  AND 

RUSSIA.* 

(Signed   at   St.   Petersburgh,  February  Jg,    1825;    presented  to 
Parliament,  May  16,  1825.) 


(Translation) 

In  the  Name  of  the  Most  Holy  and 
Undivided  Trinity. 
His  Majesty  the  King  of  the  United 
Kingdom  of  Great  Britain  and  Ire- 
land, and  His  Majesty  The  Emperor 
of  all  the  Russias,  being  desirous  of 
drawing  still  closer  the  Ties  of  good 
Understanding  and  Friendship  which 
unite  them,  by  means  of  an  Agree- 
ment which  may  settle,  upon  a  basis 
of   reciprocal  convenience,   different 
points  connected  with  the  Commerce, 
Navigation,    and    Fisheries    of   their 
Subjects  on  the  Pacific  Ocean,  as  well 
as  the  limits  of  their  respective  Pos- 
sessions on  the  North  West  Coast  of 
America,    have     named     Plenipoten- 
tiaries to  conclude  a  Convention  for 
this    purpose,    that    is    to   say: — His 
Majesty  the  King  of  the  United  King- 
dom  of    Great   Britain   and    Ireland, 
The  Right  Honourable  Stratford  Can- 
ning, a  Member  of  His  said  Majesty's 
Most  Honourable  Privy  Council,  &c., 
and  His  Majesty  The  Emperor  of  all 
the  Russias,  The  Sieur  Charles  Rob- 
ert Count  de  Nesselrode,  His  Ithperial 
Majesty's  Privy  Councillor,  a  Member 
of  the  Council  of  the  Empire,  Secre- 
tary of  State  for  the  Department  of 
Foreign  Affairs,   &c.,   and  the  Sieur 
Pierre    de    Poletica,     His     Imperial 
Majesty's  Councillor  of   State,    &c.. 


Au  Nom  de  la   Tres  Sainte  et  Indi- 
visible Triniti. 

Sa  Majesty  le  Roi  du  Royaimie  Uni 
de  la  Grande  Bretagne  et  de  I'lrlande, 
et  Sa  Majesty  I'Empereur  de  toutes 
les  Russies,  d^sirant  resserrer  les  liens 
de  bonne  intelligence  et  d'amiti^  qui 
les  unissent,  au  moyen  d'un  accord  qui 
r^gleroit,  d'apres  le  principe  des  con- 
venances r^ciproques,  divers  points  re- 
latifs  au  Commerce,  a  la  Navigation, 
et  aux  Pecheries  de  leurs  Sujets  sur 
rOc^an  Pacifique,  ainsi  que  les  limites 
de  leurs  Possessions  respectives  sur  la 
Cote  Nord  Quest  de  I'Amerique,  ont 
nomm^    des    Pldnipotentiaires    pour 
conclure  une  Convention  a  cet  effet, 
savoir  : — Sa  Majest6  le  Roi  du  Roy- 
aume  Uni  de  La  Grande  Bretagne  et 
de     I'lrlande,    le     Tres    Honourable 
Stratford  Canning,   Conseiller  de   Sa 
Majeste  en  Son  Conseil  Priv^,  &c.    Et 
Sa  Majesty  I'Empereur  de  toutes  les 
Russies,    le     Sieur     Charles     Robert 
Comte  de  Nesselrode,  Son  Conseiller 
Prive  actuel,  Membre  du  Conseil  de 
I'Empire,  Secretaire  d'Etat   dirigeant 
le  Ministere  des  Affaires  Etrangeres, 
&c.;  et  le  Sieur  Pierre  de  Poletica, 
Son    Conseiller     d'Etat    actuel,     &c. 
Lesquels  Plenipotentiaires,apres  s'etre 
communique  leurs  Pleins-pouvoirs  re- 
spectifs,    trouves  en    bonne     et     due 


*  Senate,  ^oth  Congress,  2d  Session,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  Report  on  the 
Boundary  Line  between  Alaska  and  British  Columbia.  March  2,  18S9.  Pages 
31-36. 


8o 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 


Who,  after  having  communicated  to 
each  other  their  respective  Full  Pow- 
ers, found  in  good  and  due  form, 
have  agreed  upon  and  signed  the  fol- 
lowing Articles: 

I.  It  is  agreed  that  the  respective 
Subjects  of  the  High  Contracting 
Parties  shall  not  be  troubled  or  mo- 
lested, in  any  part  of  the  Ocean,  com- 
monly called  the  Pacific  Ocean,  either 
in  navigating  the  same,  in  fishing 
therein,  or  in  landing  at  such  Parts 
of  the  Coast  as  shall  not  have  been 
already  occupied,  in  order  to  trade 
with  the  Natives,  under  the  restric- 
tions and  conditions  specified  in  the 
following  Articles. 

II.  In  order  to  prevent  the  Right 
of  navigating  and  fishing,  exercised 
upon  the  Ocean  by  the  Subjects  of 
The  High  Contracting  Parties,  from 
becoming  the  Pretext  for  an  illicit 
Commerce,  it  is  agreed  that  the  Sub- 
jects of  His  Britannic  Majesty  shall 
not  land  at  any  Place  where  there 
may  be  a  Russian  Establishment, 
without  the  permission  of  the  Gov- 
ernor or  Commandant;  and,  on  the 
other  hand,  that  Russian  Subjects 
shall  not  land,  without  permission,  at 
any  British  Establishment  on  the 
North-West  Coast. 

III.  The  line  of  demarcation  be- 
tween the  Possessions  of  the  High 
Contracting  Parties,  upon  the  Coast 
of  the  Continent,  and  the  Islands  of 
America  to  the  North- West,  shall  be 
drawn  in  the  following  manner: — 

Commencing  from  the  Southern- 
most Point  of  the  Island  called 
Prince  of  Wales  Island,  which  Point 
lies  in  the  parallel  of  54  degrees  40 
minutes,  North  Latitude,  and  be- 
tween the  131st  and  133d  Degree  of 
West  Longitude  (Meridian  of  Green- 
wich), the  said  line  shall  ascend  to 


forme,  ont  arrets  et  sign6  les  Articles 
suivant: — 


I.  II  est  convenu  que  dans  aucune 
partie  du  Grand  Oc^an,  appel^  com- 
mun^ment  Oc^an  Pacifique,  les  su- 
jets  respectifs  des  Hautes  Puissances 
Contractantes  ne  seront  ni  troubles, 
ni  gen^s,  soit  dans  la  navigation,  soit 
dans  I'exploitation  de  la  peche,  soit 
dans  la  faculty  d'aborder  aux  cotes, 
sur  des  Points  qui  ne  seroient  pas 
ddja  occup^s,  afin  d'y  faire  le  com- 
merce avec  les  Indigenes,  sauf  toute- 
fois  les  restrictions  et  conditions  dd- 
termin^es  par  les  Articles  qui  suivent. 

II.  Dans  le  vue  d'empecher  que 
les  droits  de  navigation  et  de  peche 
exerc^s  sur  le  Grand  Ocean  par  les 
Sujets  des  Hautes  Parties  Contrac- 
tantes, ne  deviennent  le  pretexte  d'un 
commerce  illicite,  il  est  convenu  que 
les  Sujets  de  Sa  Majesty  Britannique 
n'aborderont  a  aucun  Point  ou  il  se 
trouve  un  Etablissement  Russe,  sans 
la  permission  du  Gouverneur  ou  Com- 
mandant, et  que,  r^ciproquement,  les 
Sujets  Russes  ne  pourront  aborder, 
sans  permission,  a  aucun  Etablisse- 
ment Britannique,  sur  la  Cote  Nord 
Ouest. 

III.  La  ligne  de  demarcation  entre 
les  Possessions  des  Hautes  Parties 
Contractantes  sur  la  Cote  du  Conti- 
nent et  les  lies  de  l'Am6rique  Nord 
Ouest,  sera  trac^e  ainsi  qu'il  suit: — 

A  partir  du  Point  le  plus  meri- 
dional de  rile  dite  Prince  of  Wales, 
lequel  Point  se  trouve  sous  la  paral- 
l^le  du  54me  degr^  40  minutes  de 
latitude  Nord,  et  entre  le  I3ime  et  le 
I33me  degr6  de  longitude  Ouest  (Me- 
ridien  de  Greenwich),  la  dite  ligne 
remontera   au    Nord    le    long   de    la 


THE    CONVENTION   OF    1 825. 


81 


the  North  along  the  Channel  called 
Portland  Channel,  as  far  as  the  Point 
of  the  Continent  where  it  strikes  the 
56th  Degree  of  North  Latitude;  from 
this  last  mentioned  Point  the  line  of 
demarcation  shall  follow  the  summit 
of  the  mountains  situated  parallel  to 
the  Coast,  as  far  as  the  point  of  in- 
tersection of  the  141st  Degree  of  West 
Longitude  (of  the  same  Meridian); 
and,  finally,  from  the  said  point  of  in- 
tersection, the  said  Meridian  Line  of 
the  141st  Degree,  in  its  prolongation 
as  far  as  the  Frozen  Ocean,  shall  form 
the  limit  between  the  Russian  and 
British  Possessions  on  the  Continent 
of  America  to  the  North  West. 

IV.  With  reference  to  the  line  of 
demarcation  laid  down  in  the  preced- 
ing Article  it  is  understood  ; 

1st.  That  the  island  called  Prince 
of  Wales  Island  shall  belong  wholly 
to  Russia. 

2d.  That  wherever  the  smnmit  of 
the  mountains  which  extend  in  a  di- 
rection parallel  to  the  Coast,  from  the 
56th  degree  of  north  Latitude  to  the 
point  of  intersection  of  the  141st  de- 
gree of  West  Longitude,  shall  prove 
to  be  at  the  distance  of  more  than 
ten  marine  leagues  from  the  Ocean, 
the  limit  between  the  British  Possess- 
ions and  the  line  of  Coast  which  is  to 
belong  to  Russia,  as  above-mentioned, 
shall  be  formed  by  a  line  parallel  to 
the  windings  of  the  Coast,  and  which 
shall  never  exceed  the  distance  of  ten 
marine  leagues  therefrom. 

V.  It  is  moreover  agreed,  that  no 
Establishment  shall  be  formed  by 
either  of  the  Two  Parties  within  the 
limits  assigned  by  the  two  preceding 
Articles  to  the  Possessions  of  the 
Other:  consequently,  British  Subjects 
shall  not  form  any  Establishment 
either  upon  the  Coast,  or  upon  the 
border  of   the  Continent    comprised 


passe  dite  Portland  Channel,  jusqu'au 
Point  de  la  terre  ferme  ou  elle  at- 
teint  le  56me  degr^  de  latitude  Nord: 
de  ce  point  la  ligne  de  demarcation 
suivra  la  crete  des  montagnes  situ^es 
paralieiement  a  la  Cote,  jusqu'au 
point  d'intersection  du  I4ime  degre 
de  longitude  Ouest  (meme  Meridien); 
et,  finalement,  du  dit  point  d'intersec- 
tion, la  meme  ligne  m^ridienne  du 
I4ime  degr^  formera,  dans  son  pro- 
longement  jusqu'a  la  mer  Glaciale,  la 
limite  entre  les  Possessions  Russes  et 
Britanniques  sur  le  Continent  de 
I'Amerique  Nord  Ouest. 


IV.  II  est  entendu,  par  rapport  a 
la  ligne  de  demarcation  determinee 
dans  I'Article  pr^ceddnt: 

1°.  Que  I'ile  dite  Prince  of  Wales 
appartiendra  toute  entiere  a  La  Rus- 
sie  : 

2°.  Que  partout  oi  la  crete  des 
montagnes  qui  s'^tendent  dans  une 
direction  parallele  a  la  Cote  depuis 
le  56me  degr^  de  latitude  Nord  au 
point  d'intersection  du  I4ime  degr^ 
de  longitude  Ouest,  se  trouveroit  a 
la  distance  de  plus  de  dix  lieues 
marines  de  1' Ocean,  la  limite  entre 
les  Possessions  Britanniques  et  la  lis- 
iere  de  Cote  mentionnde  ci-dessus 
comme  devant  appartenir  a  La  Rus- 
sie,  sera  form^e  par  une  ligne  par- 
allele avix  sinuosit^s  de  la  Cote,  et 
qui  ne  pourra  jamais  en  etre  eioign^e 
que  de  dix  lieues  marines. 

V.  II  est  convenu  en  outre,  que 
nul  Etablissement  ne  sera  form^  par 
I'une  des  deux  Parties  dans  les  lim- 
ites  que  les  deux  Articles  pr^cedens 
assignent  aux  Possessions  de  1' Autre. 
En  consequence,  les  Sujets  Britan- 
niques ne  formeront  aucun  Etablis- 
sement soit  sur  la  cote,  soit  sur  la 
lisiere  de  terre  ferme  comprise  dans 


82 


THE   ALASKA.    BOUNDARY. 


within  the  limits  of  the  Russian  Pos- 
sessions, as  designated  in  the  two 
preceding  Articles ;  and,  in  like  man- 
ner, no  Establishment  shall  be  formed 
by  the  Russian  Subjects  beyond  the 
said  limits. 

VI.  It  is  understood  that  the  Sub- 
jects of  his  Britannic  Majesty,  from 
whatever  Quarter  they  may  arrive, 
whether  from  the  Ocean,  or  from  the 
interior  of  the  Continent,  shall  for 
ever  enjoy  the  right  of  navigating 
freely,  and  without  any  hindrance 
whatever,  all  the  rivers  and  streams 
which,  in  their  course  towards  the 
Pacific  Ocean,  may  cross  the  line  of 
demarcation  upon  the  line  of  coast 
described  in  Article  3  of  the  present 
Convention. 

VII.  It  is  also  understood,  that, 
for  the  space  of  ten  Years  from  the 
signature  of  the  present  Convention, 
the  Vessels  of  the  Two  Powers,  or 
those  belonging  to  their  respective 
Subjects,  shall  mutually  be  at  liberty 
to  frequent,  without  any  hindrance 
whatever,  all  the  inland  Seas,  the 
Gulfs,  Havens,  and  Creeks  on  the 
Coast  mentioned  in  Article  3  for  the 
purpose  of  fishing  and  of  trading  with 
the  Natives. 

VIII.  The  port  of  Sitka,  or  Novo 
Archangelsk,  shall  be  open  to  the 
Commerce  and  Vessels  of  British  Sub- 
jects for  the  space  of  ten  Years  from 
the  date  of  the  exchange  of  the  Rati- 
fications of  the  present  Convention. 
In  the  event  of  an  extension  of  this 
term  of  ten  years  being  granted  to 
any  other  Power,  the  like  extension 
shall  be  granted  also  to  Great  Britain. 

IX.  The  above  mentioned  liberty 
of  Commerce  shall  not  apply  to  the 
trade  in  spirituous  liquors,  in  fire- 
arms, or  other  arms,  gunpowder  or 
other  warlike  stores;  the  High  Con- 


ies limites  des  Possessions  Russes, 
telles  qu'elles  sont  d^sign^es  dans  les 
deux  Articles  pr^c^dens;  et,  de  meme, 
nul  Etablissement  ne  sera  form^  par 
des  Sujets  Russes  au  dela  des  dites 
limites. 

VI.  II  est  entendu  que  les  Sujets  de 
Sa  Majesty  Britannique,  de  quelque 
C6te  qu'ils  arrivent,  soit  de  I'Oc^an, 
soit  de  I'int^rieur  du  Continent,  joui- 
ront  a  perp^tuit^  du  droit  de  naviguer 
librement,et  sans  entrave  quelconque, 
sur  tous  les  fleuves  et  rivieres,  qui, 
dans  leurs  cours  vers  la  mer  Pacifique, 
traverseront  la  ligne  de  demarcation 
sur  la  lisiere  de  la  Cote  indiqu6e  dans 
I'Article  3  de  la  pr^sente  Convention. 


VII.  II  est  aussi  entendu  que, 
pendant  I'espace  de  dix  Ans,  a  dater 
de  la  signature  de  cette  Convention, 
les  Vaisseaux  des  deux  Puissances, 
ou  ceux  appartenans  a  leurs  Sujets 
respectifs,  pourront  r^ciproquement 
frequenter,  sans  entrave  quelconque, 
toutes  les  Mers  int^rieures,  les  Golfes, 
Havres,  et  Criques  sur  la  Cote  men- 
tionnde  dans  I'Article  3  afin  d'y  faire 
le  peche  et  le  commerce  avec  les 
Indigenes. 

VIII.  Le  Port  de  Sitka,  ou  Novo 
Archangelsk,  sera  ouvert  au  Com- 
merce et  aux  Vaisseaux  des  Sujets 
Britanniques  durant  I'espace  de  dix 
ans,  a  dater  de  I'^change  des  Ratifica- 
tions de  cette  Convention.  Au  cas 
qu'une  prolongation  de  ce  terme  de 
dix  ans  soit  accord^e  a  quelque  autre 
Puissance,  la  meme  prolongation  sera 
^galement  accord^e  a  La  Grande  Bre- 
tange. 

IX.  La  susdite  liberty  de  com- 
merce ne  s'appliquera  point  au  trafic 
des  liqueurs  spiritueuses,  des  armes 
a  feu,  des  armes  blanches,  de  la  pou- 
dre  a  canon,   ou  d'autres  munitions 


THE   CONVENTION   OF    1 825. 


83 


trading  Parties  reciprocally  engaging 
not  to  permit  the  above  mentioned 
articles  to  be  sold  or  delivered,  in  any 
manner  whatever,  to  the  Natives  of 
the  Country. 

X.  Every  British  or  Russian  Ves- 
sel navigating  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
which  may  be  compelled  by  storms 
or  by  accident,  to  take  shelter  in  the 
Ports  of  the  respective  parties,  shall 
be  at  liberty  to  refit  therein,  to  pro- 
vide itself  with  all  necessary  stores, 
and  to  put  to  sea  again,  without  pay- 
ing any  other  than  Port  and  Light- 
house dues,  which  shall  be  the  same 
as  those  paid  by  National  Vessels. 
In  case,  however,  the  Master  of  such 
Vessel  should  be  under  the  necessity 
of  disposing  of  a  part  of  his  mer- 
chandise in  order  to  defray  his  ex- 
penses, he  shall  conform  himself  to 
the  Regulations  and  Tariffs  of  the 
Place  where  he  may  have  landed. 

XI.  In  every  case  of  complaint  on 
account  of  an  infraction  of  the  Ar- 
ticles of  the  present  Convention,  the 
Civil  and  Military  Authorities  of  the 
High  Contracting  Parties,  without 
previously  acting  or  taking  any  for- 
cible measure,  shall  make  an  exact 
and  circumstantial  Report  of  the 
matter  to  their  respective  Courts,  who 
engage  to  settle  the  same  in  a  friendly 
manner, "  and  according  to  the  prin- 
ciples of  justice. 

XII.  The  present  Convention  shall 
be  ratified,  and  the  Ratifications  shall 
be  exchanged  at  London  within  the 
space  of  six  weeks,  or  sooner  if  pos- 
sible. 

In  witness  whereof  the  respective 
Plenipotentiaries  have  signed  the 
same,  and  have  affixed  thereto  the 
Seal  of  their  Arms. 


de  guerre;  les  Hautes  Parties  Con- 
tractantes  s'engageant  r^ciproque- 
ment  a  ne  laisser  ni  vendre,  ni  livrer, 
de  quelque  maniere  q;ue  cepuisse  etre, 
aux  Indigenes  du  pays,  les  articles  ci- 
dessus  mentionn^s, 

X.  Tout  Vaisseau  Britannique  ou 
Russe  naviguant  sur  I'Oc^an  Pa- 
cifique,  qui  sera  forc^  par  des  tem- 
petes,  ou  par  quelque  accident,  de  se 
refugier  dans  les  Ports  des  Parties 
respectives,  aura  la  liberty  de  s'y 
radouber,  de  s'y  pourvoir  de  tous  les 
objets  qui  lui  seront  necessaires,  et 
de  se  remettre  en  mer,  sans  payer 
d'autres  Droits  que  ceux  de  Port  et 
de  Fanaux,  lesquels  seront  pour  lui 
les  memes  que  pour  les  Batimens 
Nationaux.  Si,  cependant,  le  Patron 
d'un  tel  navire  se  trouvoit  dans  la 
necessite,  de  se  defaire  d'une  partie 
de  ses  marchandises  pour  subvenir  a 
ses  depenses,  il  sera  tenu  de  se  con- 
former  aux  Ordonnances  et  aux  Tar- 
ifs  de  I'Endroit  ou  il  aura  aborde. 

XL  Dans  tous  les  cas  de  plaintes 
relatives  a  I'infraction  des  Articles  de 
la  pr^sente  Convention,  les  Autorit^s 
Civiles  et  Militaires  des  deux  Hautes 
Parties  Contractantes,  sans  se  permet- 
tre  au  prealable  ni  voie  de  fait,  ni 
mesure  de  force,  seront  tenues  de  faire 
un  rapport  exact  de  1 'affaire  et  de 
ses  circonstances  a  leurs  Cours  re- 
spectives, lesquelles  s'engagent  a  la 
regler  a  I'amiable,  et  d'apres  les  prin- 
cipes  d'une  parfaite  justice. 

XII.  La  pr^sente  Convention  sera 
ratifi^e,  et  les  Ratifications  en  seront 
^changdes  a  Londres,  dans  I'espace 
de  six  semaines,  ou  plutot  si  faire  se 
pent. 

En  Foi  de  quoi  les  Pl^nipotentiaires 
respectifs  I'ont  sign^e,  et  y  ont  ap- 
pose le  Cachet  de  leurs  Armes. 


84 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 


Done  at  St.  Petersburgh,  the 
Twenty  eighth  (Sixteenth)  Day  of 
February,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord 
One  Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and 
Twenty-five. 

[i,.  S.J    Stratford  Canning. 

[L.  S.]     The  Count  de  NessEI^RODE. 

[i..  s.]    Pierre  de  Polbtica. 


Fait  a  St.  Pdtersbourg,  le  Vingt 
huit  (Seize)  F^vrier,  de  I'an  de  Gra,ce 
mil  huit  cent  vingt-cinq. 


[I,,  s.]    Stratford  Canning. 
[i,.  S.]     Le  Comte  de  Nessei.RODE. 
lU.  S.]      PlERRB  DE  POI^ETICA. 


CRITICISM   UPON    THE    TRANSLATION   OF   CERTAIN 
IMPORTANT  WORDS  IN  THE  CONVEN- 
TION BETWEEN  RUSSIA  AND 
GREAT  BRITAIN. 


We  have  elsewhere  remarked  upon  the  weak  and  unequivalent 
English  translation  of  certain  of  the  more  important  words  of  the 
French  text,  such  as  lisi^re,  sinuosit^s,  crete,  limite,  ligne  and 
crique;  and  herewith  exhibit  extracts  of  the  texts  in  parallel  col- 
umns for  ready  comparison. 

La  Crete. 

This  is  an  important  word  in  the  Treaty  and  is  used  once  in 
each  of  the  Articles  III  and  IV. 


French  Text. 

Article  III.  "  de  ce  dernier  point 
la  ligne  de  demarcation  suivra  la 
crfete  des  montagnes  situ^es  parallele- 
ment  a  la  Cote  *  *  *  " 

Article  IV.  "2°.  Que  partout  ovl 
la  crSte  des  montagnes  qui  s'^tendent 
dans  une  direction  parallele  a  la 
Cote  *  *  *  " 


English  Translation. 

Article  III.  "from  this  last  men- 
tioned Point  the  line  of  demarcation 
shall  follow  the  summit  of  the  moun- 
tains situated  parallel    to  the  Coast 

*  *  *  >> 

Article  IV.  "2d.  That  wherever 
the  summit  of  the  mountains  which 
extend  in  a  direction  parallel  to  the 
Coast  *   *  *  " 


"La  Crete"  in  its  simplest  application  is  the  cock's  comb,  and  indi- 
cates the  crest  and  not  a  single  point  thereof.  When  it  is  applied 
to  mountains  it  refers  to  the  ridge  and  not  to  isolated  peaks  thereof. 

It  is  essentially  the  crest-line  of  a  mountain  chain,  from  which 
the  waters  flow  in  opposite  directions;  it  is  the  water-parting  of 
engineers  and  geographers.  In  mountain  chains  there  are  numer- 
ous high  and  prominent  peaks  that  are  not  on  the  crest-line,  but 
rise  from  either  flank,  and  they  may  be  higher  than  adjacent  sum- 
mits in  the  crest-line.  There  are  examples  in  California  and  Ore- 
gon, and  Mt.  Rainier  in  Washington. 

The  late  boundary  troubles  between  Chile  and  Argentina  arose 


86  THE   AI.ASKA   BOUNDARY. 

upon  the  question  of  the  crest-line  or  water-parting  of  the  Andes. 

When  Mr.  George  Canning  enclosed  his  ' '  draft  convention ' '  to 
Sir  Charles  Bagot,  in  his  letter  of  July  21,  1824,*  (page  433)  and 
it  was  submitted  to  the  Russian  Ambassador,  Count  Lieven,  (page 
438),  the  latter  took  exception  to  the  proposition  in  Article  II,  that 
the  boundary  should  follow  the  Coast  parallel  to  the  sinuosit^s 
(text)  at  the  base  of  the  mountains  towards  the  sea.  He  says,  that 
as  a  rule  when  a  chain  of  mountains  was  to  serve  as  a  boundary  line 
"c'est  toujours  la  cz'me  de  ces  montagnes  qui  forme  la  ligne  de 
demarcation. "  "  La  cime ' '  is  simply  the  top  of  a  high  body,  and 
may  be  applied  to  a  tree,  a  rock  or  a  mountain,  and  the  word 
appears  to  have  been  then  and  there  abandoned  for  the  more 
appropriate  word  cr^te. 

I^ater  on  Mr.  George  Canning  wrote  to  Mr.  Stratford  Canning, 
December  8th,  1824  (P^-ge  448),  "where  the  mountains  are  the 
boundary,  we  are  content  to  take  the  summit  instead  of  the  '  sea- 
ward base'  as  the  line  of  demarcation."  He  does  not  use  the 
plural  summits,  or  individual  peaks;  his  words  imply  a  line  of 
summits  in  the  water-parting  crest. 

We  submit  that  the  translation  of  ' '  crete ' '  by  the  English  word 
' '  summit ' '  does  not  carry  the  idea  of  a  crest-line  or  water-parting 
with  prompt  clearness;  it  is  not  a  decisive  equivalent. 

SiNUOSiT:fes. 

This  is  a  word  of  vital  importance  in  the  Treaty.     It  is  used  but 

once,  as  follows: 

French  Text.  English  Translation. 

Article  IV.     "2°.   *  *  *    la  limite  Article  IV.     "2d.    *  *  *  the  limit 

entre  les  Possessions  Britanniques  et  between  the  British  Possessions  and 

la  lisiere  de  Cote  mentionn^e  ci-dessus  the  line  of  the  Coast  which  is  to  belong 

comme  devantappartenir  a  LaRussie,  to  Russia,  as  above  mentioned,  shall 

sera  form^e  par  une  ligne  parallele  be  formed  by  a  line  parallel  to   the 

aux  sinuosit^s  de  la  Cote  *  *  *  "  windings  of  the  Coast  *  *  *  > ' 

The  translation  of  "sinuosit^s"  in  the  English  text  is  not  in  con- 
formity with  the  actual  meaning.     The  word  ' '  windings ' '  is  vague 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration,  1893.     Volume  IV. 


THE  SINUOSITIES  OF   THE  COAST.  87 

and  does  not  express  the  idea  intended  to  be  conveyed.  It  is  not 
in  use  by  nautical  men  and  geographers  to  describe  or  designate 
such  marked  and  important  breaks  in  the  general  trend  or  direction 
of  a  coast  as  we  find  on  the  western  coast  of  Vancouver  Island,  or 
in  the  great  inlets  penetrating  the  continental  shore  of  British  Co- 
lumbia north  of  Fraser  River,  or  Portland  Inlet  and  others  in 
Alaska.  The  proper  English  equivalent  is  sinuosities.  Both  the 
French  and  English  words  are  derived  from  the  Latin  sinus. 

An  examination  of  maps  that  exhibit  the  old  world  of  the  Roman 
Empire,*  reveals  the  application  of  the  word  sinus  in  its  larger, 
and  its  more  restricted  sense.  In  the  larger  applications,  some  of 
the  gulfs  of  the  modern  maps  are  there  called  "Sinus;"  and  on 
the  broken  coast  line  of  Greece  the  sharp  indentations  are  also 
named  ' '  Sinus. ' '  There  are  double  applications  of  the  name ;  for 
example,  the  Red  Sea  is  denominated  the  Sinus  Arabicus;  and  at 
its  head  the  Gulf  of  Suez  (Bahr  Assuez)  is  named  the  Heroopolites 
Sinus,  and  the  Gulf  of  Akabah  (Bahr  el  Acaba)  is  the  ^lanites 
Sinus;  the  Gulf  of  Corinth  is  the  Sinus  Corinthiacus.  Among  the 
smaller  indentations  are  the  Sinus  Singiticus,  and  close  to  it  the 
Toronaicus  Sinus  in  the  Northwestern  part  of  the  ^gseum  Mare; 
each  a  relatively  narrow  and  long  indentation  of  the  continental 
shore. 

Comparing  the  application  of  the  word  by  the  Romans  to  such 
bodies  of  waters  as  gulfs,  bays  and  inlets,  nearly  every  indentation 
of  the  western  coast  of  Vancouver  Island  would  be  a  sinus;  such 
as  Clayoquot  Sound,  Nootka  and  Quatsino  Sounds;  and  on  the 
mainland  eastward  of  Vancouver  Island,  Jervis  Inlet,  Bute,  Knight 
and  Seymour  Inlets.  These  we  consider  remarkable  examples  of 
the  Roman  Sinus.  And  farther  to  the  northward,  Holkham  Bay 
and  its  arms,  Taku  and  Taiya  Inlets,  and  Lynn  Canal  in  the 
Archipelago  Alexander,  are  equally  good  examples. 

In  fact  the  English  language  still  holds  to  the  word  '  'sinus, ' '  with 

*  A  Complete  Body  of  Ancient  Geography,  by  Mons.  D' Anville,  Member  of  the 
Royal  Academy  of  Belles  Lettres,  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  at  Petersburg. 
*  *  *  London  :  Printed  and  Sold  by  R.  Sayer  and  J.  Bennett,  Map,  Chart  and 
Print  Sellers.  No.  53  Fleet  Street.  M.DCC.LXXXV.  (22  in.  by  i^yi.  in.  26 
sheets.) 


88  THE   AI^ASKA    BOUNDARY. 

its  Latin  definitions:  "a  bay  of  the  sea;  a  recess  in  the  coast;  an 
opening  into  the  land ;' '  *  and  this  English  dictionary  gives  a  quo- 
tation from  T.  Burnett,  '  *  some  arms  of  the  Sea  or  Sinuses. ' '  For 
the  word  "sinuosity,"  it  quotes  from  S.  Smith,  "a  line  of  Coast, 
certainly  amounting  with  its  sinuosities^  to  more  than  700  miles." 

The  English  geographers  still  use  the  word  sinuosity  for  such 
inlets,  arms  or  fiords,  as  is  shown  in  the  following  quotation  from 
the  English  translation  of  Reclus'  description  of  New  Zealand 
where  he  says,  after  Captain  James  Cook  had  made  a  general  survey 
of  the  Islands,  ' '  nothing  remained  to  be  done  beyond  following  the 
sinuosities  of  the  coast  line  and  exploring  the  interior  of  the 
Islands."     Volume  "  Australia. "     (Page  421. )t 

It  should  be  remembered  that  Vancouver  had  been  with  Cook  on 
two  of  his  voyages  of  exploration,  and  rigidly  carried  out  the  inves- 
tigations of  all  the  sinuosities  of  the  Continental  shore  of  Alaska. 
In  the  recent  surveys  by  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey  and  the  Canadian  official  parties,  this  plan  was  developed 
more  closely  by  the  modem  means  and  methods  of  delineation. 

The  French  word  '  'sinuosity, ' '  and  the  English  word  '  'sinuosity' ' 
convey  no  difference  of  meaning,  and  especially  in  the  matter  of 
nautical  geography.  It  is  very  doubtful  whether  the  word 
' '  windings ' '  would,  in  the  present  case,  be  translated  by  the  word 
'  *  sinuosites. ' ' 

The  term  '  'windings' '  is  so  vague  that  we  can  readily  understand 
that  the  Russians  intentionally  used  the  word  sinuosites  ;  it  aptly 
described  all  those  remarkable  arms  of  the  sea  that  penetrated  the 
continental  shore  with  deep  water  and  navigable  capacity;   and  it 

*  The  Imperial  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language,  *  *  *  by  John  Ogilvie, 
LL.D.  New  Edition  edited  by  Charles  Annadale,  M.  A.  London  :  Blackie  & 
Son,  49  and  50  Old  Bailey,  E.  C;  Glasgow,  Edinburgh  and  Dublin.  1883,  The 
Century  Co.,  New  York.     (Four  large  Volumes  of  about  700  pages  each.) 

t  The  Earth  and  Its  Inhabitants.  The  Universal  Geography,  by  Elis^e  Reclus, 
edited  by  A.  H.  Keane,  B.A.,  Vice-President,  Anthrop.  Institute;  Cor.  Member 
Italian  and  Washington  Anthrop.  Society  ;  Professor  of  Hindustani,  University 
Col.,  London  ;  Author  of  "  Asia,"  etc.  Australia.  *  *  *  Illustrated  by 
numerous  Engravings  and  Maps.  London  :  J.  S.  Virtue  &  Co.,  Limited,  294 
City  Road.  [19  Volumes,  about  500  pages  each.  No  date,  but  statistics  are  given 
to  include  1888.] 


THE   LISIE:RE   or   BORDER.  89 

precluded  the  English  passing  through  any  one  of  these  great  arras 
or  fiords  as  a  channel  way  to  the  interior  if  such  arm  should  be 
found  to  extend  ten  marine  leagues  or  more  into  the  continent. 

Lisie:re. 

This  is  another  very  important  word  in  the  Treaty,  and  is  used 
in  Articles  IV,  V  and  VI,  as  follows: 

French  Text.  English  Translation. 

Article   IV.     "la    limite  entre   les  Article  IV.    "  the  limit  between  the 

Possessions  Britanniques  et  la  lisiere  British  Possessions  and  the  line  of  the 

de    Cote    mentionn^e    *    *     *    sera  Coast  which  is  to  belong  to  Russia,  as 

form^e   *  *  *  "  before    mentioned,    shall  be    formed 

Article  V.     "  soit  sur  la  lisiere  de  Article  V.     "  or  upon  the  border  of 

terre  ferme  comprise  dans  les  limites  the  Continent  comprised  within  the 

des  Possessions  Russes  *   *  *  "  limits    of    the     Russian     Possessions 

*   *   *  'I 

In  speaking  of  the  streams  crossing   the  strip  of  ten    marine 
leagues  wide,  the  treaty  says  : 

Article  VI.     " traverseront  la  ligne  Article  VI.     "may  cross  the    line 

de  demarcation  sur  la  lisiere  de  la  Cote  of  demarcation  upon  the  line  of  coast 

indiqu^e  *  *  *  "  described 


*   *   *  »> 


We  submit  that  making  "lisiere"  represent  a  "line"  of  the  coast 
in  Articles  IV  and  VI  is  erroneous,  and  the  more  especially  in 
Article  VI  where  '  'ligne' '  is  properly  translated  as  a  '  'line, ' '  and  in 
the  same  sentence  in  immediate  conjunction  the  word  "lisiere"  is 
translated  a  "line." 

The  "ligne"  of  Article  III  may  clearly  ascend  from  the  head 
of  Portland  Channel,  but  a  "lisiere  "  could  not. 

The  translations  are  not  uniformly  made  and  are  not  satisfactory 
or  definite.  There  are  good  English  words  that  are  especially 
applicable  to  the  intentions  of  the  Treaty  as  expressed  in  French. 
The  French  word  and  its  English  equivalent  are  derived  from  the 
Teutonic  words  list  and  liste;  and  the  French  lisiere,  English  list, 
and   German   leiste,    carry  the  same  meaning;  namely,    a   strip. 


90  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

border  or  selvedge.  Of  cotton  goods  it  is  the  selvedge,  of  broad- 
cloths (woollen)  it  is  the  list  or  listing,  and  this  was  in  general 
domestic  use  for  garters  in  England.* 

Throughout  the  correspondence  between  Mr.  George  Canning, 
Sir  Charles  Bagot  and  Mr.  Stratford  Canning  with  the  Russian 
Plenipotentiaries,  the  latter  continually  insisted  upon  the  ' '  lisiere. ' ' 
The  "  Counter- Draft "  by  the  Russian  Plenipotentiary,  March  13th, 
1824,  declares  that  the  principal  motive  which  forces  Russia  to 
insist  upon  ' '  la  soverainete  de  la  lisiere  indiquee  plus  haut  sur  la 
terre  ferme  depuis  le  Portland  Canal  jusqu'au  point  d' intersection 
du  60°  avec  le  139°  de  longitude,  c'est  que,  privee  de  ce  territoire, 
le  Compagnie  Russe-Americaine  n'auroit  aucun  moyen  de  soutenir 
les  Etablissemens  qui  seroient  des  lors  sans  point  d'appui,  et  qui 
ne  pourroient  avoir  aucune  solidite. ' '  An  important  declaration. 
(Page  427.)  And  in  Mr.  George  Canning's  "  Draft  Convention  " 
July  2,  1824,  ^^  ^ses  the  term  "lisiere  de  cote,"  but  the  translation 
is  ' '  line  of  coast, ' '  which  is  altogether  another  condition. 

One  of  the  latest  uses  of  the  word  ' '  lisiere "  is  by  Hon.  David 
Glass,  Q.  C,  etc.,  in  his  paper  on  the  Alaska  boundary,  when  he 
speaks  of  that  section  of  the  boundary  line  lying  between  56° 
latitude  and  the  141st  meridian  "covering  what  is  known  as  the 
lisiere,  or  strip  of  mainland  located  along  the  coast  of  the  conti- 
nent between  the  last  named  two  points. ' '  f 

Limits. 

This  is  another  important  word  of  the  Treaty  and  is  used  in 
Articles  III,  IV  and  V.  It  is  used  to  designate  the  boundary  line 
from  the  initial  point  at  the  southernmost  extremity  of  the  Prince 
of  Wales  Island  to  the  iVrctic  Ocean. 


*  "  Gartered  with  a  red  and  white  list."     Shakespeare,  as  quoted  in  the  Impe- 
rial Dictionary. 

^Anglo-American  Magazine,  December,  1899,  page  551. 


THE    BOUNDARY   LINE. 


91 


French  Text. 

Article  III.  "et,  finalement,  *  *  * 
formera,  dans  son  prolongement  jus- 
qu'a  la  mer  Glaciale,  la  limite  entre 
les  Possessions  Russes  et  Britanniques 
sur  le  Continent  *  *  *  " 

Article  IV.  "  a  la  distance  de  plus 
de  dix  lieues  marines  de  I'Oc^an,  la 
limite  entre  les  Possessions  Britan- 
niques et  la  lisiere  de  Cote  *  *  *  " 

Article  V.  "  soit  sur  la  lisiere  de 
terre  ferme  comprise  dans  les  limites 
des  Possessions  Russes  *  *  *  " 


English  Translation. 

Article  III.  "and,  finally,  *  *  * 
in  its  prolongation  as  far  as  the 
Frozen  Ocean,  shall  form  the  limit 
between  the  Russian  and  British  Pos- 
sessions on  the  Continent  *  *  *  " 

Article  IV.  "at  the  distance  of 
more  than  ten  marine  leagues  from 
the  Ocean,  the  limit  between  the 
British  Possessions  and  the  line  of 
Coast  *   *   *  " 

Article  V.  "or  upon  the  border  of 
the  Continent  comprised  within  the 
limits    of    the     Russian     Possessions 

*     *     4f  >> 


The  word  "limite  "  is  clearly  and  sharply  defined  by  the  word 
boundary;  and  although  the  words  limite  and  limit  are  derived 
directly  from  the  same  Latin  word,  yet,  by  usage,  the  English 
word  limit  does  not  promptly  indicate  or  suggest  the  special  ap- 
plication as  a  boundary  line,  and  especially  on  an  extended  scale. 
Certainly  the  word  limit  would  not  be  translated  into  the  French 
limite  as  a  boundary  line. 

In  Articles  III  and  IV,  the  word  limit  does  not  definitely  suggest 
a  boundary  line ;  in  Article  V,  the  word  used  for  ' '  lisiere ' '  is  border, 
and  that  at  once  suggests  breadth  as  well  as  length,  but  immedi- 
ately in  connection  therewith,  the  word  limites  is  translated  limits, 
where  boundaries  should  have  been  used.  The  French  word  limite 
and  the  English  word  limit  are  not  equivalent. 


Crique.     Int^rieures. 

We  suggest  that  a  few  words  of  explanation  may  be  given  to 
thes«  terms.     They  occur  in  Article  VII. 


French  Text. 

Article  VII,     "  toutes  les  Mers  in- 

t^rieures,  lesGolfes,  Havres,  etCriques 

sur  la  Cote  mention^e  dans  I'Article  3 
*  *  * »' 


English  Translation. 

Article  VII.  "  all  the  inland  Seas, 
the  Gulfs,  Havens,  and  Creeks  on  the 
Coast  mentioned  in  Article  3  *  *  *  " 


92  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

The  translation  is  not  quite  so  explicit  as  it  should  be.  The 
word  "  int^rieures  "  should  have  been  translated  by  its  equivalent, 
' '  interior. ' '  The  word  ' '  creek ' '  is  not  used  in  the  United  States  in 
the  same  sense  as  in  France  and  England.  In  this  country  it  refers 
to  a  small  stream  tributary  to  a  larger  one,  or  it  may  open  directly 
upon  a  lake  or  ocean.  It  is  not  navigable  save  to  a  canoe  or  light 
draught  boat.  In  Article  VII  the  creeks  there  mentioned  are  nav- 
igable to  the  vessels  then  trading  on  the  Coast,  or  to  the  naval 
vessels  of  Russia  and  the  United  States. 

Armes  Blanches. 

Among  the  minor  inaccuracies  of  the  translation  of  the  French 
text  is  that  of  ' '  des  armes  blanches  ' '  into  * '  other  arms ' '  instead 
of  the  military  meaning,  ' '  side  arms. ' ' 

Indivisible. 

The  weakness  of  the  translation  is  shown  in  the  invocation: 
"Au  Nom  de  la  Tres  Sainte  et  Indivisible  Trinity,"  is  rendered, 
"In  the  Name  of  the  Most  Holy  and  Undivided  Trinity."  The 
French  word  "indivisible"  and  the  English  word  "undivided" 
are  not  equivalent. 


THE    LISII:RE    or   THIRTY    MILES    BORDER    ALONG 

THE    CONTINENTAL    SHORE.      BRITISH 

AND  OTHER  AUTHORITIES. 


In  the  correspondence  between  the  Russian  and  British  Plenipo- 
tentiaries after  the  surrender  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander  to  Rus- 
sia, the  principal  point  at  issue  was  the  determination  of  the  breadth 
of  the  lisi^re  or  coast-strip  which  Russia  had  claimed,  but  not  its 
distance  into  the  mainland.  This  breadth  soon  reached  moderate 
limits;  England  persisted  in  reducing  it  to  a  "still  more  narrow 
limitation  "  than  ten  marine  leagues  (page  433) ;  Russia  persisted  in 
that  ten  leagues  breadth  with  the  evident  intention  of  controlling  all 
deep  water  inlets  stretching  inland;  as  we  have  shown  from  the 
"Counter-Draft"  by  the  Russian  Plenipotentiary,  March  13,  1824. 
Mr.  George  Canning  wrote  to  Mr.  Stratford  Canning,  December 
8th,  1824,*  that  "we  proposed  to  qualify  the  general  proposition 
'  that  the  mountains  should  be  the  boundary,  with  the  condition  if 
those  mountains  should  not  be  found  to  extend  beyond  10  leagues 
from  the  coast;'"  *  *  *  an(j  jje  then  proposed  "where  the 
mountains  are  the  boundary,  we  are  content  to  take  the  summit 
instead  of  the  '  seaward  base '  as  the  line  of  demarcation. ' '  (Pages 
447,  448.) 

Very  naturally  there  followed  compromises,  and  the  Articles  of 
the  Convention  present  the  final  agreement.  In  that  convention 
the  lisi^re  is  doubly  assured. 

The  treaty  of  1825  ^^^^s  to  the  force  of  the  Articles  III  and  IV 
certain  conditions  of  privileges  and  restrictions  to  the  subjects  of 
Great  Britain,  as  specified  in  subsequent  Articles.  They  are 
almost  identical  with  those  granted  and  exacted  from  the  United 
States  by  the  Convention  of  1825.  ^^^^  ^^st  restriction  is  that 
"British  subjects  shall  not  form  any  Establishment  either  on  the 
Coast  or  upon  the  lisiere;"  the  second  is  that  the  liberty  of  Com- 
merce shall  not  apply  to  the  trade  in  spirituous  liquors,  fire-arms, 
side  arms,  gunpowder  or  other  warlike  stores. 
*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration,  1893.     Volume  IV,  page  447. 


94  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

The  privileges  were  that  British  subjects  arriving  from  the  sea 
or  from  the  interior  should  enjoy  forever  the  right  of  navigating 
freely  all  the  rivers  and  streams  which  may  cross  the  line  of  demar- 
cation upon  or  over  the  lisi^re.  It  is  this  privilege  which  protects 
all  the  deep  inlets,  arms  or  sinuosities  stretching  into  the  mainland 
to  the  use  of  Russia. 

For  the  space  of  ten  years  the  vessels  of  both  powers  could  freely 
navigate  all  the  Inland  Seas,  Gulfs,  Havens  and  Straits  on  the  coast; 
and  for  the  same  period  the  port  of  Sitka  was  to  be  open  to  the 
commerce  and  vessels  of  British  subjects. 

The  conditions  thenceforth  existing  between  the  two  great  fur 
Companies  were  duly  respected,  as  well  as  the  privileges  secured  by 
the  United  States.  At  a  later  date  the  Companies  made  compacts 
with  each  other  without  appealing  to  their  respective  governments, 
as  is  shown  in  the  statements  of  Sir  George  Simpson  in  1847  ^^^ 

1857. 

Sir  George  Simpson,   Governor-in-Chief  of  the   Hudson's   Bay 

Company  Territories  in  North  America,  in  his  journey  around  the 

world,    in   describing    "Fort   Stikine,"     now   Wrangell,    writes, 

September,  1841,  Volume  i,  page  209:  * 

' '  This  establishment,  originally  founded  by  the  Russian 
American  Company,  has  been  recently  transferred  to  us  on  a  lease 
of  ten  years,  together  with  the  right  of  hunting  and  trading  in 
the  continental  territories  of  the  association  in  question,  as  far  up 
as  Cross  Sound.  Russia,  as  the  reader  is,  of  course,  aware  possesses 
on  the  mainland,  between  54°  40',  and  latitude  60°,  only  a  strip, 
never  exceeding  thirty  miles  in  depth ;  and  this  strip  in  the  absence 
of  such  an  arrangement  as  has  just  been  mentioned  renders  the 
interior  comparatively  useless  to  England." 

At  page  210  he  describes  the  fort,  etc.,  as  four  and  ten  miles 
respectively  from  the  North  and  South  mouths  of  the  "  Stikine  or 
Felly's  River." 

*  Narrative  of  a  Journey  round  the  World  during  the  years  1841  and  1842,  by 
Sir  George  Simpson,  Governor-in-Chief  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  Terri- 
tories in  North  America.  In  two  Volumes.  London  :  Henry  Colburn,  Publisher. 
Great  Marlborough  Street,  1847. 


THE  TESTIMONY  OF  SIR  GEORGE   SIMPSON.  95 

In  the  testimony  of  Sir  George  before  the  Parliamentary  Com- 
mittee of  1857,  he  stated  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had, 
in  1839,  leased  from  the  Russian  American  Company,  the  margin 
of  the  coast  from  latitude  54°  40'  to  Cross  Sound  or  Icy  Strait,  and 
he  also  exhibited  the  map  of  1857,  which  we  have  elsewhere  noted, 
to  show  the  length  and  breadth  of  the  lisiere  as  the  coast-strip 
leased  by  his  Company. 

Of  Sir  George  Simpson,  Mr.  Alexander  Begg  says  (page  113), 
' '  He  was  the  first  Hudson  Bay  Governor  who  fulfilled,  on  behalf 
of  the  Company,  that  duty  imposed,  as  a  condition,  by  the  char- 
ter— the  task  of  exploration  and  geographical  discovery." 

The  Governor's  testimony  is  unimpeachable. 

In  his  Hydrographic  Notes  of  the  North  Pacific,  Bering  Sea  and 
the  Arctic,  Captain  Tebenkof,  who  had  been  in  the  Alaskan  Colo- 
nies from  1825  to  1833,  and  in  1845  was  appointed  Governor  of 
the  Colonies,  describes  very  briefly  the  region  of  the  Archipelago 
from  Icy  Strait  or  Cross  Sound  to  Portland  Inlet,  and  writes  on 
page  37  as  follows:  "To  the  latitude  of  54°  40'  all  the  islands 
from  the  north  [Cape  Spencer]  with  the  ten  leagues  border  in  from 
the  continental  shore  belong  to  Russia.  Farther  to  the  south,  the 
islands  to  the  strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca  and  the  mainland  coast  to  the 
parallel  of  49°  belong  to  England." 

In  his  History  of  British  Columbia,  1894,  Mr.  Alexander  Begg 
has  a  short  article  entitled  "The  Alaska  Boundary  Impracticable." 
He  quotes  from  Articles  III  and  IV  of  the  Convention  of  1825,  ^-nd 
remarks  (page  126),  "the  interpolation  of  the  three  words,  'called 
Portland  Channel,'  has  rendered  the  wording  of  the  treaty  obscure 
and  the  boundary  impracticable,  as  described  south  of  the  56th  de- 
gree of  latitude.  *  *  *  Why  the  words  '  called  Portland  Chan- 
nel '  should  have  been  introduced  has  not  been  understood,  neither 
can  they  be  reconciled  with  Vancouver's  survey  (1793-4),  on  which 
the  treaty  was  based,  nor  with  the  description  of  the  southern 
boundary  '  from  the  southernmost  point  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island, 
from  south  to  north. ' ' '  [This  last  quotation  is  not  exact.  ]  *  *  * 
"A    Russian   atlas    published    in    1849    places    the  boundary   in 


96  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Portland  Canal,  which  it  reaches  by  going  east  to  Observatory- 
Inlet  and  then  north. ' '     There  the  article  ends. 

One  of  the  most  extraordinary  claims  in  relation  to  the  ten 
leagues  border  is  made  in  the  Year  Book  of  British  Columbia  for 
1897  by  R.  E.  Gosnell,  Librarian  of  the  Legislative  Library.  This 
Canadian  claim  is  "that  by  the  word  'ocean'  in  the  Treaty  [of  1825] 
the  high  sea  outside  of  the  Archipelago  is  meant,  and  that  the 
boundary  must  be  drawn  ten  marine  leagues  from  the  outer  rim  of 
the  Archipelago,  except  where  the  summit  is  nearer  the  coast  than 
ten  marine  leagues,  in  which  case  the  line  will  follow  such  summit. 
This  would  give  Canada  all  the  inlets  and  even  a  portion  of  some 
of  the  islands,"  etc.  (Page  99.)  This  proposition  is  quoted  with 
commendation  from  the  Victoria  Daily  Colonist^  but  it  originated 
with  Dr.  Dawson,  as  shown  elsewhere. 

The  boundary  line  and  the  lisiere  received  fresh  complications 
from  the  hands  of  Hon.  David  Glass,  Q.  C. ,  in  his  paper  of  Decem- 
ber, 1899.  He  says:  "This  line  is  to  cross  all  inlets,  channels, 
canals,  creeks  or  rivers,  extending  into  the  mainland,  and  to  abso- 
lutely follow  the  coast  of  the  continent.  This  is  the  only  British 
contention,  so  far  as  I  know  and  so  far  as  defined  in  the  Canadian 
Parliament."     (Page  551.) 

A  Canadian  jurist  and  Member  of  Parliament  has  expressed 
some  extreme  views  in  an  article  in  the  ' '  British  Columbia  Mining 
Record^  Christmas  1899,  Victoria,  B.  C."  These  views  lack  the 
calm,  deliberate  character  which  we  would  expect  from  one  of  his 
standing,  Sir  Charles  Hibbert  Tupper,  K.C.M.G.,  Q.C.,  M.P.,  and 
we  quote  but  a  few  sentences. 

Speaking  of  the  border  he  says  :  "Much  discussion  has  revolved 
around  the  words  *  *  *  'La  crete  des  montagnes  situees  paral- 
l^lement  a  la  cote '  in  Article  IH. 

"  The  main  water-shed  to  which  the  United  States  would  apply 
these  words,  '  the  summit  of  the  mountains  situated  parallel  to  the 
coast, '  is  beyond  the  '  distance  of  ten  marine  leagues '  referred  to 
in  Article  IV."     (Page  3.) 

' '  Great  Britain  contends  that  these  words  refer  to  the  mountains 
nearest  the  ocean."     Great  Britain  denies  that  Portland  Inlet  is 


EXTRAORDINARY   CLAIMS   OF   THE   CANADIANS.  97 

part  of  Portland  Channel,  and  "insists  that  the  passage  along  the 
coast  through  Pearse  Channel  to  the  ocean  is  part  of  Portland 
Canal."  (Page  3.)  For  Great  Britain  it  would  have  been  proper 
to  have  said  Canada. 

He  then  refers  to  the  boundary  along  the  141st  meridian,  and 
continues:  "It  is  along  this  boundary  that  the  discoveries  of 
extensive  and  valuable  placer  gold  mines  have  been  found;  and  it 
is  to  this  field  that  the  United  States  are  permitted  to  hold  the 
present  ports  of  ingress  and  egress,  Dyea  and  Skagway,  both  in 
British  territory. ' '     (Page  3. ) 

Later  on  he  declares:  "I  am  satisfied  that  we  can  find  no 
parallel  in  any  country  in  the  world  for  such  a  course  as  the  United 
States  have  taken,  namely,  that  in  the  delimitation  of  the  boun- 
dary under  the  treaty  no  regard  shall  be  had  to  what  that  treaty 
means. ' ' 

He  then  advises  "the  BritishCommission  to  absolutely  repudiate 
recognizing  any  such  position,  or  any  such  terms. ' '     (Page  4. ) 

RESUME). 

From  the  foregoing  quotations  which  we  have  given  from 
English  and  Canadian  authorities,  we  make  this  resume. 

The  British  and  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  formulated  the  terms 
relating  to  the  thirty  miles  coast-strip  or  border  so  far  as  it  was 
practicable  to  express  them  with  the  charts  and  narrative  of  Van- 
couver before  them.  The  Articles  of  the  Convention  relating 
thereto  were  satisfactory  to  both  the  great  fur  trading  Companies, 
and  were  acceptable  to  the  Governments.  The  English  traders 
had  no  doubt  of  their  meaning,  and  even  in  the  ill-advised  attempt 
by  the  Dryad  in  1834,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  withdrew  and 
settled  with  the  Russian  American  Company  by  a  renewal  of  the 
lease.  The  British  Government  took  no  active  interest  in  the 
incident. 

Sir  George  Simpson,  Govemor-in-Chief  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  Territories  in  North  America,  unreservedly  acknowledges 
(1841-7)  the  Russian  right  to  the  thirty  miles  border;  and  in  1857, 


98  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

before  a  Select  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  he  again 
acknowledged  it,  and  that  the  Company  leased  it.  He  was  in  a 
position  to  have  secured  every  possible  advantage  to  the  Company 
if  Great  Britain  had  any  claim  to  that  lisiere. 

The  geographer  Tebenkof,  1849-1852,  expresses  the  Russian 
views  by  claiming  all  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander, 
and  the  ten  marine  leagues  strip  or  border  of  the  mainland. 

Mr.  Alexander  Begg,  in  1894,  could  not  see  through  the  assumed 
mystery  of  the  Portland  Channel,  and  declared  the  delimitation  of 
that  part  of  the  boundary  impracticable. 

Mr.  R.  E.  Gosnell,  1897,  makes  the  extraordinary  claim  that  the 
boundary  line  must  extend  ten  leagues  eastward  from  the  Pacific 
Coast  of  the  Archipelago,  and  not  from  the  Continental  shore. 

Hon.  David  Glass,  Q.  C,  1899,  runs  his  boundary  so  as  to  put 
the  heads  of  all  the  inlets,  channels,  canals,  etc.,  into  British 
Columbia. 

Sir  Charles  H.  Tupper,  Q.  C. ,  etc. ,  is  the  first  to  use  the  term 
'  'water-shed' '  to  the  crest-line  of  mountains  nearest  the  ocean.  He 
contends  for  Pearse  Canal  as  Portland  Inlet,  and  claims  that  Taiya 
Inlet,  with  the  towns  Dyea  and  Skagway,  are  in  British  territory, 
but  are  permitted  to  be  retained  by  the  United  States. 

As  in  the  case  of  the  presentation  of  the  British  and  Canadian 
Maps  and  Charts,  we  have  here  presented  a  similar  condition  of 
authority.  The  boundary  border  of  thirty  miles  is  accepted  by  the 
authority  of  Great  Britain,  and  is  rejected  by  the  Dominion  of 
Canada. 

At  this  point  we  propose  to  give,  in  some  detail,  the  description 
of  certain  geographical  features  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander 
which  are  more  especially  involved  in  the  question  at  issue. 

Dixon  Entrance. 

One  important  area  of  water  in  the  approaches  to  Portland  Inlet 
was  given  no  name  by  Vancouver,  although  all  the  great  straits 
leading  from  it  were  named.  His  vessels  approached  Portland 
Inlet  from  the  southward  in  part  through  the  ten  miles  wide  channel 
which  lies  between  Dundas  Island  and  the  mainland  on  the  east; 


THE  APPROACHES  TO  PORTLAND  CANAL.  99 

and  to  this  channel  he  gave  the  name  Chatham's  Sound.  To  that 
large  area  of  waters  hence  sixty  miles  to  the  westward,  and  over 
thirty  miles  wide  north  and  south,  between  the  Prince  of  Wales 
Archipelago  and  the  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago,  he  gave  no 
name,  probably  because  he  had  not  sailed  through  it;  and  west  of 
Clarence  Strait,  he  utilized  all  the  shore  lines  from  the  Spanish 
explorers. 

This  unnamed  area  is  the  Dixon  Entrance  of  late  charts,  Eng- 
lish and  American.  It  is  the  ' '  Entrada  de  Perez, ' '  because  first 
seen  by  Don  Juan  Perez  of  the  fragata  Santiago  in  July,  1774;  the 
Dixon's  Straits  of  Captain  Dixon's  Chart,  1787;  Douglas  Entrance 
after  Captain  Douglas  of  the  iphigeyiia^  1788;  Detroit  de  Van- 
couver of  Bru6,  1827;  the  Strait  of  Kygahne  of  Tebenkof's  chart, 
1848;  Granitza  Strait  on  the  Russian  Admiralty  Chart  No.  10, 
series  Eastern  Ocean,  1848,  and  on  the  British  Admiralty  Chart 
No.  2172;  Dixon's  Channel  by  Findlay,  1851;  Dixon's  Entrance, 
British  Admiralty  Charts  Nos.  2461,  1856-65,  and  2431,  1865-88, 
which  latter  also  duplicates  the  name  by  applying  it  to  the  passage 
between  Cape  Fox  and  Dundas  Island;  and  Dixon  Sound,  David- 
son's Coast  Pilot  of  Alaska,  1869. 

It  is  particularly  noteworthy  that  the  name  Granitza  Strait  given 
by  the  Russian  Hydrographic  Department  to  the  Dixon  Entrance 
means  Boundary  Strait. 

No  one  of  the  names  earlier  or  later  than  Vancouver's  date  are 
referred  to  in  the  Treaty  of  1825  between  Russia  and  the  United 
States. 

Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago. 

There  is  another  name  that  enters  into  this  question: — "Prince 
of  Wales  Island." 

This  name  is  not  mentioned  in  Vancouver's  Narrative,  nor  is  it 
on  his  Chart  In  September,  1793,  he  reconnoitered  the  eastern 
shore  of  this  Island  or  Archipelago  from  the  ' '  Cabo  de  Chacon ' ' 
of  Caamano  to  the  northern  extremity;  thence  around  the  north- 
west shores,  and  left  the  Island  at  "Cabo  de  San  Bartolom"  in 
latitude  55'  12'.     He  writes,  page  419,  Volume  II:     "Its  western 


lOO  THE    ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

shore  is  an  extensive  tract  of  land,  which  (although  not  visibly  so 
to  us)  I  have  reason  to  believe  is  much  broken,  and  divided  by- 
water,  forming  as  it  were  a  distinct  body  in  the  great  Archipelago. 
This  I  have  honored  with  the  name  'The  Prince  of  Wales's 
Archipelago.'  "     On  his  chart  the  same  name  is  given. 

On  Vancouver's  chart  this  extensive  tract  of  land  is  laid  down 
as  115  nautical  miles  long  northwest  and  southeast,  and  50  nauti- 
cal miles  wide.  The  whole  southern  and  southv/estern  part  is 
drawn  from  the  survey  of  Caamano  and  retains  his  names  of  the 
capes,  gulfs  and  bays;  but  neither  Caamano,  nor  Vancouver,  has  any 
strait  or  straits  cutting  it  into  an  archipelago,  and  it  is  therefore 
projected  on  his  chart  as  a  single  area  of  land,  or  as  an  island.  On 
the  French  reproduction  of  Vancouver's  Charts,  it  is  designated 
' ' Archipel  du  Prince  de  Wales. ' '  In  the  Treaty  between  Russia 
and  Great  Britain  in  1825,  it  is  called  the  "  Prince  of  Wales  Island. " 
Tebenkof  calls  it  the  "Islands  of  the  Prince  of  Wales, — (ver>' 
many)";  the  Russian  Admiralty  Chart  No.  10,  the  "Archipelago 
of  the  Prince  of  Wales. ' '  On  the  British  Admiralty  Charts  Nos. 
2431  and  2461,  it  is  named  "Prince  of  Wales  Island  and 
Archipelago,"  and  "Prince  of  Wales  Island"  respectively;  on  the 
U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  Charts,  it  is  named  "Prince 
of  Wales  Island." 

The  three  capes  at  the  southern  part  of  Prince  of  Wales  Archipel- 
ago of  Vancouver  and  Caamano  are  (naming  them  from  the  west), 
Muzon,  Nunez  and  Chacon,  and  were  so  named  by  Caamano.  They 
are  nearly  on  the  parallel  of  54°  42)^',  but  Muzon  is  a  little  south 
of  the  others.  While  they  are  not  named  in  the  negotiations  two 
of  them  are  referred  to  more  than  once:  "  des  deux  pointes  de  I'lle 
du  Prince  de  Galles"  (Page  429),  in  the  "Draft  Convention," 
Article  II  (Page  435),  and  in  Article  I  of  the  "Counter-Draft" 
(Page  441).* 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :     1893.     Volume  IV. 


THE   NAMES    OF   PORTLAND    CANAL,   OBSERVATORY 
INLET,  AND  PRINCE  OF  WALES  ISLAND. 

Examination  of  Vancouver's  Charts  and  Narrative. 


There  is,  once  in  a  long  while,  some  little  discrepancy  between 
the  names  on  the  charts  and  those  in  the  text  of  Vancouver.  These 
trifling  oversights  would  have  no  weight  under  ordinary  circum- 
stances when  a  pen  note  would  correct  them.  If  the  text  and  the 
charts  be  carefully  collated,  the  diflferences  are  satisfactorily  ad- 
justed. 

In  July,  1793,  Vancouver  found  three  English  fur  trading  ves- 
sels at  anchor  in  latitude  54°  18'  off  the  northern  extremity  of  Ste- 
phens Island,  and  twenty-five  miles  southwest  from  the  entrance 
to  Portland  Inlet.  (Volume  II,  page  324.)  The  Chief  in  com- 
mand informed  Vancouver  that  he  had  ' '  sailed  up  a  large  opening 
whose  southern  entrance  was  in  54°  45'. ' '  This,  says  Vancouver, 
"is  probably  the  same  as  that  laid  down  in  Sen'-  Caamano's  chart, 
named  Estrecho  de  Almirante  Fiientes.''''  "Mr.  Brown  found  it 
to  extend  to  the  north-westward,  with  several  arms  branching  from 
it  in  various  directions  to  the  latitude  of  56°  20';  where,  in  a  south- 
westerly direction,  it  again  communicated  with  the  north  Pacific. 
He  had  understood,  from  the  natives,  that  there  was  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood a  very  extensive  inland  navigation,  communicating  with 
a  sea  to  the  northward,  that  occupied  the  inhabitants  nearh'  three 
months  in  reaching  its  extent,  where  they  traded  for  whale  oil,  sea 
otter  skins,  and  other  marine  productions."     (Page  325.) 

That  is  a  clear  description  of  Clarence  Strait  through  which 
Vancouver  sailed  in  September,  and  reached  the  Pacific  by  what 
is  now  known  as  Sumner  Strait,  although  Vancouver  considered  it 
part  of  the  "Duke  of  Clarence's  Strait."      (See  his  chart.) 

From  their  anchorage  at  Stephens  Island,  Captain  Brown  de- 
scribed the  entrance  to  an  extensive  arm  as  lying  toward  the 
N.  N.  E.  about  nine  leagues  distant,  but  he  had  not  penetrated  any 
-distance  into  it  because  having  entered  one  of  the  small  branches 


102  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

that  extended  to  the  southeastward  with  his  sloop  and  schooner, 
he  came  in  conflict  with  the  natives  and  fired  upon  them.  (Page 
325.)  Mr.  Whidbey  commenced  his  examination  of  the  Conti- 
nental shore  towards  this  N.  N.  E.  opening,  (Page  326),  and  on 
Sunday,  July  21st,  entered  this  arm,  to  the  southeast  point  of 
whose  entrance  he  gave  the  name  '  ^ Point  Maskelyne. "  It  is  situ- 
ated in  latitude  54°  42 >^'.  (See  chart  and  page  327,  of  Narrative, 
Volume  II.) 

This  is  the  entrance  to  Portland  Canal  or  Inlet;  and  we  have 
been  thus  explicit  because  it  is  the  first  inlet  mentioned  in  the 
Convention  of  1825  ^^^  ^^^  Treaty  of  1867,  and  some  explanation 
is  needed  about  the  proper  designation. 

This  canal  at  the  entrance  is  three  nautical  miles  wide,  and 
carries  that  width  northeastward  for  twenty-one  miles;  there  it 
branches,  and  Observatory  Inlet  continues  forty  miles  to  the  north- 
northeastward;  and  Portland  Canal  continues  fifty  miles  to  the 
northward.  Each  of  these  arms  has  decreased  width.  From  the 
entrance  they  carry  extreme  depths  of  water;  318  fathoms  at  en- 
trance; 150  fathoms  at  bifurcation;  thence  138  fathoms  to  head  of 
the  north  arm;  and  38  fathoms,  no  bottom,  to  head  of  Observatory 
Inlet.  (U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  Chart  No.  8050.)  The 
walls  of  these  great  inlets  or  fiords  reach  four  and  five  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea. 

Parallel  with  the  broader  inlet  and  to  the  west  is  ' '  Pearse  Inlet, ' ' 
a  narrow,  deep  channel,  of  difficult  navigation  and  full  of  dangers, 
as  described  by  Vancouver  from  personal  inspection.  (Volume  II, 
pages  341,  345,  378.)  The  channel  is  separated  from  Portland 
Inlet  by  Pearse  Island  and  Wales  Island. 

In  comparing  Vancouver's  Chart  and  his  Narrative,  we  find  the 
following  conditions:  He  had  been  away  on  boat  duty,  and  on  the 
1 5th  of  August  he  reached  ' '  that  arm  of  the  sea,  whose  examina- 
tion had  occupied  our  time  from  the  27th  of  the  preceding  to  the 
2d.  of  this  month.  The  distance  from  its  entrance  to  its  source  is 
about  70  miles;  which,  in  honor  of  the  noble  family  of  Bentinck, 
I  named  Portland's  Canal."     (Volume  II,  page  371.) 

On  his  chart  there  is  no  name  to  the  lower  and  broader  and 


OBSERVATORY   INLET.  IO3 

deeper  part  of  the  Inlet,  which  is  twenty-one  miles  long,  but  on 
the  chart  the  upper  fifty  miles  is  named  "  Portland  Canal." 

In  regard  to  the  name  ' '  Observatory  Inlet, ' '  there  is  a  slight  dis- 
crepancy between  the  Chart  and  the  Narrative,  and  the  Narrative 
itself. 

While  Vancouver  had  been  away  for  twenty-three  days  on  the 
boat  exploration  along  the  Continental  shore  to  the  head  of  Port- 
land Canal,  and  through  "Behm's  Canal"  (Page  368),  Mr.  Whid- 
bey  had  been  left  at  Salmon  Cove  in  Observatory  Inlet  to  make 
observations  for  latitude  and  longitude,  and  the  rates  of  the  chro- 
nometers, magnetic  variation  and  tides.  When  ready  to  leave  the 
anchorage  at  Salmon  Cove,  Vancouver  writes,  "in  consequence  of 
our  having  been  so  fortunate  as  to  be  able  to  obtain  those  [obser- 
vations] that  were  essential  for  correcting  our  former  survey,  and 
for  our  future  regulation  in  that  respect,  this  branch  obtained  the 
name  of  "Observatory  Inlet."     (Page  375.) 

On  the  chart  he  applies  this  name  to  the  branch  reckoned  from 
Point  Ramsden  (latitude  54°  59')  where  the  two  branches  of  the 
lower  and  broader  inlet  of  twenty-one  miles  in  length  separate. 
So  far  the  narrative  and  the  chart  agree,  but  in  a  new  chapter  he 
forgets  his  former  statement  and  begins  by  saying:  "  The  route 
by  which  the  vessels  had  advanced  [up  the  inlet  from  Points 
Maskelyne  and  Wales]  to  Salmon  Cove,  being  infinitely  better  for 
them  to  pursue  towards  Cape  Caamano  than  the  intricate  channel 
[via  Pearse  Canal]  through  which  I  had  passed  in  the  boats,  we 
weighed, ' '  etc. ,  etc.  After  much  difficulty  the  vessels  did  ' '  not 
reach  the  entrance  to  Observatory  Inlet  until  2  o'clock  in  the 
morning  of  the  20th  [of  August];  a  distance  of  not  more  than  13 
leagues  from  Salmon  Cove. 

' '  The  west  point  of  Observatory  Inlet  I  distinguished  by  calling 
it  Point  Wales."    (Page  379.) 

On  his  chart  the  distance  from  Salmon  Cove  to  Point  Wales  is 
15  leagues,  and  therefore  his  two  statements  are  contradictory. 
The  weight  of  evidence  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  Portland 
Canal  being  the  term  he  intentionally  fixed  to  the  main  and 
longest  channel.   He  designated  it  by  name  in  honor  of  a  nobleman, 


104  '^^HE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

he  gave  its  length  about  70  miles  (it  is  73  on  his  chart),  and 
the  northnortheast  branch  was  a  secondar}^  inlet  and  named  from 
the  establishment  of  a  point  of  observation. 

English  and  American  authorities  have  followed  the  charts  of 
Vancouver,  and  frequent  practice  has  applied  the  name  of  Portland 
Inlet  to  the  lower  and  wider  and  deeper  stretch  of  twenty-one  miles 
between  Point  Wales  and  Point  Ramsden.  All  authorities, 
English,  Russian  and  American,  have  restricted  the  name  Obser- 
vatory Inlet  to  the  arm  so  named  by  Vancouver  on  his  Chart  and 
in  his  Narrative. 

We  here  present  some  of  the  authorities: 

"Portland  Inlet*  extends  from  the  northeastern  part  of 
Chatham  Sound  in  a  general  northeasterly  direction  for  20  miles, 
thence  it  divides,  one  arm  continuing  to  the  head  of  Observ^atory 
Inlet  and  the  other  taking  a  northerly  direction  to  the  head  of 
Portland  Canal.  At  its  southern  entrance  between  Wales  and 
Maskelyne  Points,  the  inlet  is  about  three  miles  wide,  and  its 
shores  are  comparatively  free  from  danger  beyond  the  distance  of 
400  yards. ' '     (Page  418. ) 

"Portland  Canal.* — At  about  20  miles  from  Wales  Point  an 
arm  branches  off  N.  W.  6  miles,  with  an  average  breadth  of  i  ^ 
miles.  Here  a  channel  (now  named  Pearse  Channel)  stretches  to 
S.  W.,  which  was  not  examined  in  the  survey  of  1868.  From  this 
the  canal  trends  in  a  general  northerly  direction  for  about  55 
miles.  Throughout  the  canal  no  soundings  were  obtained  at  40 
fathoms.  It  possesses  the  general  characteristics  of  the  other  fiords 
on  the  coast  of  British  Columbia,  viz.,  high  land  on  both  sides, 
terminating  in  low,  swampy  land  at  the  head,  and  deep  water,  with 
few  and  indifferent  anchorages. 

' '  The  head  of  Portland  Canal  terminates  in  low^,  woody,  swampy 
land,  through  which  two  rivers  flow  into  it. 

*  The  Coast  of  British  Columbia  induditig  the  Juatt  de  Fuca  Strait ,  Pugei  Sound, 
Vancouver  and  Queen  Charlotte  Islands.  (Hydrographic  OflSce  Publication  No.  96. ) 
Compiled  by  R.  C.  Ray,  U.  S.  Navy,  under  the  direction  of  Richardson  Clover, 
Hydrographer.     Washington,  Government  Printing  Office,  1891. 

Compiled  from  Coast  Pilot  of  Calif ornia ,  Oregori  and  Washington,  by  Davidson; 
from  British  Columbia  Pilot,   Admiralty,  etc.,  etc. 


PORTLAND   CANAL   OR   CHANNEL.  IO5 

' '  Ramsden  Point  divides  Observatory  Inlet  from  Portland  Ca- 
nal."  (Coast  Pilot  British  Columbia  as  quoted  by  U.  S.  Hydr. 
Publ.  No.  96,  page  415.) 

The  British  Admiralty  Charts,  No.  2461  of  1856  and  No.  2431 
of  1865  with  later  additions  to  1888,  confirm  the  above  statements 
as  to  names  and  characteristics. 

The  latest  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  Chart  shows  that  the  deep  water 
reaches  to  latitude  55°  55';  beyond  that  the  Canon  is  reduced  to 
half  its  width  to  56°  02',  and  is  filled  with  detritus  through  which 
the  Bear  River  runs.  The  walls,  one  or  two  miles  back,  reach  an 
elevation  of  over  5000  feet.     The  length  of  the  Canal  is  84  miles. 

All  English  authorities  have  not  reckoned  the  entrance  of  Port- 
land Canal  to  lie  between  Points  Maskelyne  and  Wales.  Findlay, 
in  his  Directory  of  the  Navigation  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,*  after  de- 
scribing Portland  Canal  (Page  431),  enters  into  a  description  of  the 
islands  just  to  the  westward  of  Point  Wales  (Page  432),  and  of  the 
present  Nakat  Inlet,  laid  down  but  not  named  by  Vancouver,  and 
considers  that  "Portland  Canal,  which  may  be  considered  to  ter- 
minate here  [Cape  Fox],  is  the  boundary  between  the  Russian  and 
British  possessions  on  the  North  American  Continent."  In  the 
second  edition  of  1870,  the  same  expression  is  used,  but  one  para- 
graph has  been  omitted  that  would  leave  some  doubt  about  the 
"termination"  of  the  canal  (Page  435);  yet,  on  Page  449,  he  says 
that  ^"^  Cape  Fox  forms  the  N.  W.  point  of  the  approaches  to  it." 
An  examination  of  the  chart  shows  that  Cape  Fox  is  nine  miles 
directly  north  of  the  north  end  of  Dundas  Island,  which  has  a 
northern  shore  line  of  six  miles  east  and  west. 

Mr.  Findlay' s  can  not  be  strained  to  mean  that  Vancouver's 
entrance  to  Portland  was  by  any  one  of  the  narrow,  tortuous  and 
dangerous  passages  among  the  islands  that  lie  between  Cape  Fox 

*  A  Directory  for  the  Navigation  of  the  Pacific  Ocean:  with  descriptions  of  its 
Coasts,  Islands,  etc. ,  from  the  Strait  of  Megalhaens  to  the  Arctic  Sea,  and  those  of 
Asia  and  Australia ;  its  winds,  currents  and  other  phenomena.  In  two  parts.  By 
Alexander  G.  Findlay,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society.  Part  I.  The 
Coasts  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  [Monogram.]  London  :  Printed  for  R.  H.  Laurie, 
Chart-seller  to  the  Admiralty,  the  Hon.  Corporation  of  Trinity  House,  etc.  No. 
53  Fleet  Street,  1851. 


I06  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

and  Point  Wales.  He  simply  adds  to  the  enlarging  of  the  ap- 
proaches; but  the  views  of  Vancouver,  as  a  navigator  and  a  geog- 
rapher, should  be  accepted. 

We  have  been  three  times  through  the  passages  leading  to 
Tongass. 

The  first  time  that  the  name  ' '  Portland  Channel ' '  was  used  is 
in  the  "Observations  of  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  on  Sir  C.  Bagot's 
amended  Proposal,"  accompanying  his  letter  of  March  17th,  1824, 
to  Mr.  G.  Canning.     (Page  429.) 

It  may  be  mentioned  in  this  place  that  the  island  of  which  the 
Point  Wales  of  Vancouver  is  the  southeast  projection,  is  now 
known  on  the  charts  as  Wales  Island.  It  is  moderately  large, 
being  eight  miles  north  and  south,  and  nearly  as  much  east  and 
west.  It  was  named  "IslaUUoa  "  by  Caamano,  1793;  Vancouver 
gave  it  no  name. 


RUSSIA  JEALOUS  OF  HER  TERRITORIAL  RIGHTS. 

1825  TO  1867. 


After  the  Convention  of  1825,  Russia  was  alert  to  any  and 
every  indirect  infringement  of  her  rights  by  the  United  States  and 
Great  Britain  through  their  citizens  and  subjects. 

The  Convention  declared  that  Great  Britain  should  not  occupy 
any  point  upon  the  coast  or  continent  within  the  Possessions  of 
Russia  ;  and  that  Russia  should  not  occupy  any  point  south  of  the 
said  Possessions.  (Article  V.)  But  during  ten  years  from  the 
date  of  the  Convention,  the  ships  of  both  powers  and  the 
vessels  belonging  to  the  subjects  thereof,  could  reciprocally 
frequent  all  the  waters  upon  the  coast  mentioned  in  Article 
III,  for  the  purposes  of  fishing  and  of  trading  with  the  natives. 
The  subjects  of  Great  Britain  had,  by  Article  VI,  the  right  of 
na\'igating  freely  all  the  rivers  and  streams  that  crossed  the  lisiere 
or  border,  whether  said  subjects  came  from  sea  or  from  the  interior ; 
and  by  Article  VII,  the  ships  of  both  powers,  or  vessels  belonging 
to  their  subjects,  could  reciprocally  frequent  all  the  waters  of 
the  Archipelago  Alexander  north  of  latitude  54°  40'. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  anxious  to  establish  commu- 
nication from  the  Mackenzie  and  Liardto  the  Pacific;  and  in  1834, 
one  of  the  Company's  explorers  had  actually  reached  the  upper 
Stakheen,  but  mistook  it  for  the  Pelly  River.  To  protect  their 
traders  who  might  use  the  Stakheen  route,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, in  1834,  fitted  out  the  brig  Dryad  at  Fort  Vancouver, 
Columbia  River,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  post  and  colony 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Stakheen ;  but  the  Russian  Governor  of 
Alaska  had  been  made  aware  of  that  project,  and  sent  two  small 
armed  vessels  to  the  locality,  where  they  constructed  a  defensive  work 
on  the  northwest  part  of  Wrangell  Island,  in  the  small  bay  now 
known  as  Port  Wrangell.     The  redoubt  was  named  St.  Dionysia. 


I08  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

In  1867  we  visited  the  site  and  remains  of  this  defensive  work.* 

When  the  Dryad  arrived  at  this  bay  it  is  asserted  that  she  was 
fired  upon  by  the  Russian  vessels;  at  any  rate,  guns  were  fired  and 
the  brig  retired  out  of  their  range.  A  parley  took  place,  but  the 
Russian  officer  was  immovable  and  the  Dryad  sailed  for  Port  Van- 
couver. 

The  rival  fur  Companies  referred  their  grievances  in  this  affair 
to  their  respective  Governments  without  any  tangible  result.  In 
1839,  the  matter  in  dispute  between  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
and  the  Russian  American  Company  was  settled  by  compromise. 
The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  yielded  in  its  demands,  and  the  Rus- 
sian American  Company  granted  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  a 
further  lease  of  ten  years  of  the  lisiere  or  border  of  the  Continental 
shore  from  Portland  Inlet  to  Cape  Spencer  at  the  northwest  point 
of  the  entrance  to  Icy  Strait  or  Cross  Sound. 

In  1834,  during  the  progress  of  these  discussions,  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  established  Fort  Simpson,  about  nine  miles  south  of 
the  entrance  to  Portland  Inlet.  Old  Fort  Simpson  had  been 
located  in  1831  near  the  mouth  of  the  Nass  River,  that  empties 
into  Observator}^'  Inlet  from  the  northeast.  The  Russian  Chart 
notes  that  it  remained  there  until  1835. 

The  compromise  of  1839  between  the  Companies  included  a 
yearly  rental  of  two  thousand  otter  skins,  afterwards  changed  to 
;^i,500,  and  certain  supplies  of  provisions  for  the  Sitka  colony: 
(see  Sir  George  Simpson's  testimony  in  1857,  already  quoted.)  The 
latter  materials  were  required  on  account  of  the  prospective  aband- 
onment of  the  Fort  Ross  establishment  in  California,  whence 
supplies  had  been  obtained  after  its  foundation,  f 

*The  Russian  Hydrographic  Chart  No.  lo,  Eastern  Ocean  Series,  1848,  has  a  plan 
of  the  harbor  Etolin  (Wrangell),  the  location  of  the  redoubt,  the  outline  of  the 
stockade  and  the  building  as  surveyed  by  Captain  Dionysi  Zarembo  in  1834.  This 
chart  names  the  Island  Wrangell  ;  Tebenkof  calls  it  Katchhanna ;  other  authorities 
have  called  the  bay  and  the  island  Etolin. 

t  Fort  Ross  was  sold  by  the  Russ.  Amer.  Co.  to  John  Sutter  of  Sutter's  Fort  (now 
Sacramento)  on  the  13th  of  December,  1840.  See  Russian  Settlements  in  California, 
by  R.  A.  Thompson,  Santa  Rosa,  Cal.,  1896,  page  13. 


THE   RIVAL   COMPANIES   COMPROMISE.  IO9 

On  the  first  of  June,  1840,  in  compliance  with  this  agreement 
between  the  two  companies,  the  redoubt  St.  Dionysia  was  aban- 
doned by  the  Russian  American  Company,  and  Chief  Factor  James 
Douglas  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  took  possession  by  raising 
the  British  flag,  which  was  saluted  with  seven  guns  from  the  Com- 
pany's steamer  Beaver.  He  renamed  the  post  Fort  Stikine  or 
Stickeen,  and  left  eighteen  men  and  an  officer  of  the  Company  in 
charge;  and  then  sailed  for  Sitka,  where  Governor  Etolin  gave  him 
a  salute  of  nine  guns. 

Chief  Factor  Douglas  remained  at  Sitka  ten  days  arranging 
future  trade  matters  with  the  Governor;  then  steamed  for  the  River 
Taku,  upon  which  he  selected  a  site  about  fifty  miles  up  the  river, 
and  built  a  fort  which  he  named  Durham,  where  he  left  eighteen 
men  and  two  officers,  of  which  the  second  was  Roderick  Finlayson, 
who  declared  it  "as  dismal  a  place  as  could  be  imagined. ' '  Thence 
he  visited  various  islands  to  learn  the  temper  of  the  natives.  * 

Bancroft  f  relates  that  while  Chief  Factor  Douglas  was  at  Sitka, 
he  was  in  constant  and  friendly  intercourse  with  the  Russian 
American  Company,  represented  by  Governor  Etolin,  and  "the 
question  of  boundary  was  settled  in  a  manner  that  will  prevent 
any  future  misunderstanding;"  and  when  he  departed  a  salute 
of  nine  guns  was  fired  by  the  Russian  vessels  in  the  harbor,  and 
returned  by  the  Beaver. 

A  few  words  may  be  added  about  Mr.  Begg's  statement  of  a  fort 
being  established  fifty  miles  up  the  Taku  River.  The  Russian 
charts  of  1848  have  no  such  location  as  Fort  Durham,  nor  could 
the  Beaver  ascend  higher  than  fifteen  miles  according  to  the  U.  S. 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  Sir  James  Douglas'  letter  of  ]\Iay 
1 2th,  1868,  to  George  Davidson,  states  explicitly  that  the  Taku 
River  had  never  been  made  use  of  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 
In  fact,  the  Russian  charts  have  the  Inlet  laid  down  as  Vancouver 
has  it;  but  these  charts  have  their  port  of  call  at  the  Taku  harbor 
and  village  on  the  eastern  shore  of  Stephens  Passage,  about  ten 

*  History  of  British  Columbia.     Alexander  Begg,  C.  E.     Toronto,  1894.     Page 
144- 
t  Alaska:     Page  557.     Bancroft  erroneously  entitles  him  Sir  James  Douglas. 


no  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

miles  south  of  the  entrance  to  Taku  Inlet.  As  a  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  post,  this  was  abandoned  in  1843.  ^^  1867,  this  small 
bay  was  known  as  the  Taku  Post. 

Dr.  George  M.  Dawson,  in  his  ' '  Report  on  an  Exploration  in 
the  Yukon  District,  N.  W.  T.,  and  adjacent  northern  portion  of 
British  Columbia  in  1887,"  *  writes,  page  59,  "This  fort  [Durham] 
was  situated  at  a  place  named  by  the  late  Sir  James  Douglas 
'  Locality  Inlet '  about  thirty  miles  southward  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Taku  River,  and  near  the  entrance  of  the  inlet  of  the  same  name, 
in  sight  of  Douglas  Island.  It  was  abandoned  in  the  spring  of 
1843,  and  is  sometimes  referred  to  as  Taku  Fort." 

In  1840,  Fort  Stikine  successfully  sustained  an  attack  by  the 
Indians.  In  1841,  the  Indians  cut  off  their  water  supply,  quite  an 
easy  task  because  it  was  on  a  low,  narrow  peninsula.  In  1842,  a  still 
more  serious  attack  was  threatened,  and  only  averted  by  the  timely 
arrival  of  Sir  George  Simpson,  Govemor-in-Chief  of  the  Terri- 
tories of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  America.  (See  his  Narra- 
tive already  referred  to.) 

In  1847,  the  Coast  Indians  are  stated  to  have  attacked  and  taken 
possession  of  the  Fort. 

During  the  Crimean  campaign  of  1854-55,  the  territories  of 
Great  Britain  and  Russia  on  the  northwest  coast  were  untouched. 
The  Russians  at  Sitka  believed  that  the  two  rival  Companies  had 
strong  influence  upon  their  respective  governments,  because  a 
British  naval  vessel  was  in  those  waters,  entered  Sitka  Sound,  sent 
in  a  boat  to  inquire  if  any  Russian  vessel  was  in  that  region,  and 
upon  assurance  there  was  none,  left.  This  belief  is  confirmed  by 
the  testimony  of  Sir  George  Simpson  in  1857,  before  a  Select  Com- 
mittee of  the  House  of  Commons  of  the  British  Parliament. 
* '  Both  Governments  confirmed  the  arrangements  made  by  the  two 
Companies. ' ' 

On  the  Asiatic  coast  the  English  made  an  unsuccessful  attack  on 
Petropaulski ;  later  the  French  and  English  vessels  attacked  the 
post  and  village  of  Petropaulski  on  the  Kamchatka  coast  and 
destroyed  them. 

*  Published  at  Ottawa  by  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada  in  1898. 


RUSSIA  JEALOUS  OF   HER   RIGHTS.  Ill 

If  Great  Britain  had  any  claim  upon  the  Continental  shore  of 
the  Archipelago  Alexander,  that  was  the  opportunity  to  make  a 
demonstration  and  occupy  Sitka. 

We  have  before  mentioned  that  in  1854  the  Russian  Government 
made  its  first  oflfer  to  sell  Alaska  to  the  United  States,  through 
Baron  Stoeckl.* 

In  1 86 1,  gold  was  discovered  on  the  Stakheen,  and  conflicts  took 
place  between  the  natives  and  the  miners  in  that  and  the  following 
year.  In  these  troubles  it  was  reported  that  one  or  more  English- 
men had  been  killed;  and  in  September,  1862,  the  British  Sloop 
of  War  Devastation^  Captain  Pike,  R.  N. ,  commanding,  arrived 
at  Sitka  from  Victoria,  B.  C. ,  to  ask  from  Governor  Furuhieln  the 
privilege  of  visiting  Port  Wrangell  and  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth 
of  the  Stakheen.  She  was  given  that  privilege,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  Governor  directed  Capt.  P.  de  Lemascheffsky  to  quickly 
outfit  the  Company's  brig  Alexander  11^  and  proceed  to  the  Stak- 
heen, and  "in  the  interests  of  humanity  to  bring  these  Indians 
to  terms  and  to  protect  British  subjects,  "f 

He  arrived  after  the  Devastation^  and  found  the  village  at 
Wrangell  deserted  by  the  Indians,  except  those  dying  of  the  small- 
pox. The  Commander  of  the  Devastation  proposed  to  send  a  boat 
expedition  up  the  Stakheen,  but  abandoned  the  project  upon  the 
assurance  of  Lemascheffsky  that  every  Indian  would  desert  his 
village  upon  the  approach  of  the  boats. 

This  transaction  made  Russia  more  and  more  jealous  of  her  ter- 
ritorial rights  in  this  region,  and  when  the  Government  learned 
from  Admiral  Popoff,  in  1862,  the  facts  about  the  Devastation''  s 
visit,  and  that  placer  gold  had  been  discovered  in  1861  on  the 
Stakheen  about  thirty  miles  from  Wrangell,  the  Admiralty 
promptly  ordered  the  Corvette  Rynda^  Commander  Bussarguine, 
from  Hakodadi,  Japan,  to  Sitka.  She  arrived  there  May  14,  1863, 
and  after  consultation  with  the  Governor,  the  vessel  sailed  for  the 

*  House  0/  Representatives,  40th  Congress,  2d  Session,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  177.    1868. 
Page  46. 

t  Letters  of  Capt.  Lemascheffsky  to  George  Davidson  dated  October  4th,  and 
December  5th,  1899.     He  says  he  can  sustain  his  statements  by  verified  documents. 


112  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

mouth  of  the  Stakheen ;  and  the  boats  made  the  survey  of  the  river 
to  the  rapids  above  the  L-ittle  Canon,  as  elsewhere  related.  *  This 
survey  was  made,  according  to  Dawson  (page  60),  to  learn  whether 
the  mining  was  being  done  in  Russian  Territory. 

These  transactions  between  the  rival  fur  Companies  support  our 
assertion  that  the  Russian  Government  was  jealous  of  her  territorial 
rights  on  the  lisiere  or  border  of  the  Continent  that  embraced  the 
Archipelago  Alexander.  No  contention  whatever  had  been  pre- 
sented by  the  Government  of  Great  Britain  to  any  rights  of  this 
lisiere,  or  in  the  Archipelago.  On  the  contrary,  the  British  Gov- 
ernment rigidly  respected  the  territorial  rights  of  Russia. 

*  Geographical  Notes  upon  Russian  America  and  the  Stickeen  River,  being  a 
report  addressed  to  the  Hon.  W.  H.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State.  By  William  P. 
Blake.  With  a  map  of  the  Stickeen  River.  Washington :  Government  Printing 
Office  1868.  Part  of  this  was  printed  in  the  Sacramento  Union  in  1863,  and  in 
Petermann^s  Mitteilungen,  Vol.  X,  1864. 


THE     HUDSON'S     BAY     COMPANY      REACHING     THE 

PACIFIC  FROM  THE  MACKENZIE  RIVER.     THE 

RUSSIAN  AMERICAN  COMPANY   ENTERING 

THE  INTERIOR  BY  THE  YUKON 

AND  OTHER   RIVERS. 


The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  gradually  pushed  their  traffic  by 
land  from  Hudson  Bay  far  to  the  northwest,  but  had  not  crossed 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  until  Alexander  Mackenzie,  between  1789 
and  1793,  made  his  memorable  journey  from  Montreal  through 
the  continent  "to  the  Frozen  and  Pacific  Oceans."  In  this 
journey  of  exploration  he  endeavored  to  reach  the  Pacific  Coast, 
but  he  only  reached  Cascade  Canal  and  the  waters  of  Bentinck's 
Anns  in  latitude  52°  21',  and,  of  course,  he  did  not  see  the 
Pacific  Ocean.  From  this  situation  he  returned  to  the  north- 
east to  Slave  River.  (Chapter  XI.)*  After  this  exploration,  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  stations  were  eventually  established  on 
the  Mackenzie  and  tributaries,  and  on  the  Yukon  and  its  tributaries. 
Fort  Yukon,  one  of  the  latest,  1847,  was  pushed  to  the  confluence  of 
the  Yukon  and  Porcupine,  or  more  than  four  degrees  west  of  the 
boundary  of  the  141st  meridian,  but  it  was  promptly  abandoned  in 
1869  when  Captain  Charles  P.  Raymond,  U.  S.  Engineers,  informed 
the  Factor  that  it  was  in  American  Territory.  Fort  Selkirk,  founded 
in  1848  at  the  confluence  of  the  Lewes  and  Pelly  Rivers,  was  de- 
stroyed by  the  warlike  Chilkaht  chief  Koh-klux',  August  21st,  1852, 
as  he  personally  related  the  circumstances  to  us  in  1869.  It  was  not 
reoccupied.  The  Rampart  House  on  the  Porcupine  was  removed 
to  the  east  of  the  141st  meridian  in  1890,  when  informed  by  Mr. 
John  H.  Turner  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  that  it 
was  in  American  territory. 

In  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
made  no  effort  to  use  either  the  Chilkaht,  the  Taku  or  the  Stak- 
heen  streams  as  a  means  of  intercommunication  between  the 
interior  of  the  country  and  the  waters  of  the  Pacific. 

*  London.     1801.     One  volume  quarto,  3  maps,  portrait,     pp.  CXXXII,  412. 


114  ''^HE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

This  is  clearly  shown  in  the  capital  hydrographic  survey  of 
Captain  Pender,  R.  N.  He  carried  his  work  from  Vancouver 
Island  to  Portland  Inlet,  but  never  into  the  Archipelago,  and  his 
survey  of  that  inlet  and  Portland  Canal  to  the  head  in  1868  has 
most  of  his  single  line  of  mid-channel  soundings  marked,  "no 
bottom,"  with  forty  fathoms  of  line.* 

The  first  failure  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  establish 
a  post  was  in  1834,  when  the  first  ten  years  leave  to  trade 
through  these  waters  was  about  expiring.  We  have  elsewhere 
mentioned  the  attempt  to  found  a  post  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Stakheen,  as  they  had  done  in  Observatory  Inlet  at  Nass  Bay,  and 
subsequently  at  Fort  Simpson,  just  south  of  the  entrance  to  Port- 
land Inlet. 

They  had  no  knowledge  of  the  Stakheen,  although  in  Dr. 
Dawson's  report  of  the  Yukon  District,  1887,  published  in  1898, 
Mr.  McConnell  intimates  that  the  Company  intended  to  use  the 
river.  He  says,  (page  59,)  "the  unsuccessful  attempt  made  by 
the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  1834  to  reach  the  trade  of  the 
interior  country  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Stikine  has  already  been  noted. ' '  f 

The  traders  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  remained  ignorant 
of  the  course  or  length  of  the  stream,  even  in  1838.  In  1834  they 
had  traveled  south  and  west  from  the  Liard  River  and  had  reached 
the  Tanzilla,  near  the  great  bend  of  the  Stakheen,  and  mistook  it 
for  the  Pelly  River. 

In  1838,  they  attempted  to  establish  a  trading  post  at  Dease 
Lake,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Stakheen, 
but  failed  after  some  rough  experience  related  by  Mr.  Campbell, 
the  head  of  the  party  of  four.  ' '  We  passed  a  winter  of  constant 
dread  from  the  savage  Russian  (coast)  Indians,  and  of  much  suffer- 
ing from  starvation.  We  were  dependent  for  subsistence  on  what 
animals  we  could  catch,  and,  failing  that,  on  '  tripe  de  roche ' 
[lichen  or  moss].  We  were  at  one  time  reduced  to  such  dire 
straits  that  we  were  obliged  to  eat  our  parchment  windows,  and 

*  Br.  Adm.  Chart  No.  2431,  1865. 

t  Exploration  in  the  Yukon  District,  1887.     George  M.  Dawson,  Ottawa,  1898. 


ILLICIT  TRAFFIC   IN   THE   ARCHIPELAGO.  II 5 

our  last  meal  before  abandoning  Dease  Lake  on  the  8th  May,  1839, 
consisted  of  the  lacings  of  our  snow  shoes. ' ' 

Up  to  1839  all  their  interior  trade  had  been  going  home  by  way 
of  the  Liard,  leading  to  the  Mackenzie,  and  the  streams  and  lakes  to 
the  eastward  and  southward.  In  1840,  Chief  Factor  James  Douglas, 
upon  his  visit  to  Sitka  and  Fort  Stickeen,  declared  his  opinion  that 
"the  business  along  the  coast  could  be  more  profitably  carried  on 
by  itinerant  visits  than  by  continuing  the  established  forts. ' '  This 
view  was  apparently  concurred  in  by  Sir  George  Simpson,  the 
Governor-in-Chief  of  the  territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company.* 
This  decision  was  sound,  because  new  means  had  come  to  change 
the  old  methods.  All  the  work  through  the  interior  waters  from 
Lynn  Canal  to  Puget  Sound  was  transacted  by  means  of  the 
Steamer  Beaver^  which  had  come  upon  the  coast  in  1835. 

They  made  no  attempt  to  use  the  Taku  route  or  the  Chilkaht, 
as  we  have  shown  by  Governor  Sir  James  Douglas'  letter  of  1868; 
and  as  we  personally  learned  from  the  Chilkahts  in  1 869 ;  and 
Dr.  Dawson,  in  his  report  of  1887,  (page  19B)  says,  "Little  is  yet 
known  of  the  Taku  River,  but  the  Indians  ascend  it  in  canoes  to 
a  point  at  a  distance  of  about  eighty  miles  from  the  head  of  Taku 
Inlet." 

Nevertheless,  the  Factors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  carried 
on  traffic  among  the  Indians  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  not 
only  by  means  of  native  traders,  but  with  their  steamers. 

In  1862,  the  H.  B.  C.  Steamer  Laboiichere  was  nearly  captured 
by  the  Hoonah  Indians  on  Saturday,  August  2nd,  as  appears  from 
documentary  evidence.  We  have  learned  this  took  place  at  the 
Hooniah  Village  and  anchorage  in  Port  Frederick,  on  the  south 
shore  of  Icy  Strait  or  Cross  Sound  in  latitude  58°  07'. 

In  1867,  we  were  at  Fort  Simpson  and  at  Fort  Tongass,  and 
learned  from  the  Hudson's  Bay  trader  at  the  former  place  that  a 
large  trafl&c  was  carried  on  with  the  Haidah  Indians  of  Prince  of 
Wales  Archipelago  and  Queen  Charlotte  Archipelago. 

In  his  letter  of  May  12th,  1868,  Governor  Douglas  says  that  the 
natives  along  the  Taku  and  the  Chilcat  ' '  now  keep  up  a  constant 

*  Alexander  Begg.     History  of  By-itish  Columbia.     Page  145. 


Il6  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

intercourse  with  the  white  settlements,  both  Russian  and  British." 
And  in  1869,  when  on  the  Chilkaht  River  at  Klu-kwan',  we  learned 
the  traffic  of  the  natives  was  with  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
traders,  as  well  as  with  Sitka. 

While  the   Hudson's  Bay  Company  was  thus  restricted  in   its 
efforts  of  exploration,  the  Russian  American  Company  gradually, 
but  persistently,  pressed  into  the  interior  along  the  river  courses 
so  soon  as  the  fur  traffic  of  the  sea  began  to  decrease.     They  found 
the  natives   averse  to  this  inroad  into  the  country,  because  the 
coast  tribes  acted  as  middle  men  between  the  Russians  and  the 
tribes  of  the  interior.     Notwithstanding  this  opposition  they  made 
trips  on  some  of  the  river  courses,  and  established  trading  posts 
protected   by    one    or    more    soldiers.      They    reached   into    the 
Yukon,  the  Kuskokwim,  the  Nushagak,  the  system  of  lakes  lying 
between  the  last  two  rivers,  the  three  Iliamna  Lakes,  Cooks  Inlet 
and   the    Shushitna,    Prince   William    Sound,   the  lower  part   of 
the  Copper  River,  and  Yakutat  Bay.     In  the  Archipelago  Alex- 
ander, Lindenberg  had  gone  well  up  the  Chilkaht  River  in  1836 
and  established  boundary  marks,  and  they  had  examined  the  Taku 
Inlet,  and   the  Stakheen  at  least  sixty-six  miles.*     And  on  the 
charts  of  Tebenkof  of  1849,  ^^^  ^^^^  down  all  the  steamer  routes 
and  trading  stations   from    Pyramid  Harbor,   at  the  head  of  the 
Chilkaht  Inlet,  throughout  the  Archipelago,  even  to  Nass   Bay,  in 
Observatory    Inlet,    where    the    Hudson's    Bay   Company   had    a 
Factory  until  1835,  (Russian  chart  just  quoted,)  when  it  was  aban- 
doned for  the  present  Fort  Simpson,  which  was  established  in  1834. 
In  the  Russian  reconnaissance  of  the  Stakheen  in  1863,  as  else- 
where  related,    the  party  found  no  signs  of  any    Hudson's    Bay 
Company  occupation. 

*  Russian  Hydrographic  Chart  No.  10.     Series  Eastern  Ocean.     1848. 


THE  HUDSON'S  BAY  COMPANY  NEVER  MADE  ANY 

USE  OF  THE  TAKU  OR  CHILKAHT  ROUTES 

INTO  THE  INTERIOR. 


The  following  statement  fully  sustains  the  assertion  that  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company  never  made  use  of  the  Chilkaht  or  Taku 
routes  to  the  interior: 

Extract  of  a  letter  dated  Victoria,  12th  May,  1868,  from  Sir 
James  Douglas,  then  Chief  Factor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
in  the  northwest  and  Governor  of  British  Columbia,  to  George 
Davidson,  Asst.  U.  S.  Coast  Survey,  Washington,  D.  C.  Mr. 
Davidson  had  asked  for  information  regarding  the  Chilkaht  and 
Taku  Rivers,  up  which  he  proposed  to  carry  an  astronomical  party 
in  1869,  to  observe,  by  order  of  the  Government,  the  total  Solar 
eclipse  of  that  year. 

' '  I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  information  we  possess,  about  the 
character  of  the  Rivers  and  means  of  travelling  in  that  part  of  the 
country  are  of  the  most  meagre  description ;  neither  the  Chilcat  nor 
Takow  Rivers  having  ever  been  made  use  of  by  Hudsons  Bay  Com- 
pany, as  routes  of  communication  to  and  from  their  inland  Posts  and 
the  sea  coast.  In  fact  the  only  route,  north  of  Columbia  River, 
resorted  to,  for  that  purpose  by  the  Hudsons  Bay  Company,  is 
that,  which  follows  Eraser's  River  and  its  tributaries,  from  the  sea 
coast  to  the  Rocky  mountains. 

' '  We  have  thus  no  positive  evidence  of  the  fact,  that  the  Chilcat  or 
Tacow  Rivers  are  either  of  them  generally  navigable;  on  the  con- 
trary, I  think  this  may  be  predicted  of  them,  only  for  a  short  distance 
from  the  coast,  and  in  craft   not   larger  than  Boats  or  canoes." 

Further  on  he  limits  the  boat  navigation  to  30  or  50  miles,  the 
latter  distance  up  the  Tacow.  He  says  the  Chilcats  are  a  very 
powerful  tribe,  excessively  saucy  and  turbulent,  though  not  dis- 
honest, nor  destitute  of  a  rough,  generous  hospitality. 

Then  he  speaks  of  the  seasons,  possibilities  of  transportation, 
and  recommends  a  retired  Chief  Trader  of  the  Company  as  a  good 
conductor,  etc. 

We  append  his  letter  to  this  paper. 


THE  TREATY  OF    1867    BETWEEN    RUSSIA   AND  THE 

UNITED  STATES. 


We  now  present  the  French  and  English  texts  of  the  Treaty  of 
1867  between  Russia  and  the  United  States.  They  are  given  in 
parallel  columns  for  facility  of  reference  and  comparison,  from  the 
President's  message  of  March  2d,  1889. 

Immediately  following  this  document,  we  make  some  remarks 
upon  the  translation,  and  upon  a  point  of  diflference  in  the  stipu- 
lations. 


Treaty  Concerning  the   Cession  of  the  Russian  Posses- 
sions IN  North  America  by  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  all  the   Russias  to  the 
United  States  of  America.* 

[Concluded  March  30, 1867;  ratifications  exchanged  June  20,  1867; 

proclaimed  June  20,  1867.] 


English  Translation. 

The  United  States  of  America  and 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the 
Russias,  being  desirous  of  strengthen- 
ing, if  possible,  the  good  understand- 
ing which  exists  between  them,  have, 
for  that  purpose,  appointed  as  their 
Plenipotentiaries:  The  President  of 
the  United  States,  William  H.  Seward, 
Secretary  of  State ;  and  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  the 
Privy  Counsellor  Edward  de  Stoeckl, 
his  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister 
Plenipotentiary  to  the  United  States. 

And  the  said  Plenipotentiaries  hav- 


French  Text. 

Sa  Majesty  I'Empereur  detoutesles 
Russies  et  les  Etats-Unis  d'Am^rique, 
d^sirant  raffermir,  s'il  est  possible,  la 
bonne  intelligence  que  existe  entre 
eux,  ont  nomme,  a  cet  eflfet,  pour  leurs 
pl^nipotentiaires,  savoir;  Sa  Majesty 
I'Empereur  de  toutes  les  Russies,  le 
Conseiller  Priv6  Edouard  de  Stoeckl, 
son  envoy^  extraordinaire  et  ministre 
pl^nipotentiaire  aux  Etats-Unis;  et  le 
President  des  Etats-Unis,  le  Sieur 
William  H.  Seward,  Secretaire  d'Etat, 
lesquels,  apres  avoir  ^chang^  leur 
pleins  pouvoirs,  trouv^s  en  bonne  et 


*  Senate,  50th  Congress,  2d  Session,  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146. 

Message  from  the  President  of  the  United  States,  transmitting  Report  of  the 
Boundary  Line  between  Alaska  and  British  Columbia.  March  2,  1889.  Pages 
3M0. 


I20 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 


ing  exchanged  their  full  powers,  which 
were  found  to  be  in  due  form,  have 
agreed  upon  and  signed  the  following 
articles : 

Article  I. 
His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the 
Russias  agrees  to  cede  to  the  United 
States,  by  this  convention,  immedi- 
ately upon  the  exchange  of  the  ratifi- 
cations thereof,  all  the  territory  and 
dominion  now  possessed  by  his  said 
Majesty  on  the  continent  of  America 
and  in  the  adjacent  islands,  the  same 
being  contained  within  the  geograph- 
ical limits  herein  set  forth,  to  wit : 
The  eastern  limit  is  the  line  of  de- 
marcation between  the  Russian  and 
the  British  possessions  in  North  Amer- 
ica, as  established  by  the  convention 
between  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  of 
February  28-16,  1825,  and  described 
in  Articles  III  and  IV  of  said  conven- 
tion in  the  following  terms  : 

"Commencing  from  the  southern- 
most point  of  the  island  called  Prince 
of  Wales  Island, which  point  lies  in  the 
parallel  of  54  degrees  40  minutes  north 
latitude,  and  between  the  131st  and 
133d  degree  of  west  longitude,  (meri- 
dian of  Greenwich,)  the  said  line  shall 
ascend  to  the  north  along  the  channel 
called  Portland  channel,  as  far  as  the 
point  of  the  continent  where  it  strikes 
the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude; 
from  this  last  mentioned  point,  the 
line  of  demarcation  shall  follow  the 
summit  of  the  mountains  situated  par- 
allel to  the  coast  as  far  as  the  point  of 
intersection  of  the  141st  degree  of 
west  longitude,  (of  the  same  meri- 
dian;) and  finally,  from  the  said  point 
of  intersection,  the  said  meridian  line 
of  the  141st  degree,  in  its  prolonga- 
tion as  far  as  the  Frozen  Ocean. 


due  forme,   ont  arrSt^    et  sign€  les 
articles  suivants: 


Article  I. 

Sa  Majesty  I'Empereur  de  toutes  les 
Russies  s'engage,  par  cette  convention, 
a  ceder  aux  Etats-Unis,  imm^diate- 
mentapres  I'^changedes  ratifications, 
tout  le  Territoire  avec  droit  de  souver- 
ainet^  actuellement  poss^de  par  Sa 
Majestd  sur  le  continent  d'Amerique 
ainsi  que  les  lies  contigiies,  le  dit 
Terretoire  ^tant  compris  dans  les 
limites  g^ographiques  ci-dessous  indi- 
qu6es;  savoir:  la  limite  orientale  est 
la  ligne  de  demarcation  entre  les  pos- 
sessions Russes  et  Britanniques  dans 
I'Amerique  du  Nord,  ainsi  qu'elle  est 
^tablie  par  la  convention,  conclue 
entre  la  Russie  et  la  Grande-Bretagne, 
le  16-28  fdvrier  1825  et  d^finie  dans 
les  termes  suivants  des  articles  III  et 
IV  de  la  dite  convention : 

"A  partir  de  point  le  plus  meridion- 
al de  I'lle  dite  Prince  of  Wales,  lequel 
point  se  trouve  sous  la  parallele  de 
54me  degr^  40  minutes  de  latitude 
nord,  et  entre  le  I3ime  et  I33me  de- 
gr6  de  longitude  ouest  (m^ridien  de 
Greenwich)  la  dite  ligne  remontera, 
au  Nord  le  long  de  la  passe  dite  Port- 
land Channel,  jusqu'au  point  de  la 
terre  ferme  ou  elle  atteint  le  56me  de- 
gr6  de  latitude  nord;  de  ce  dernier 
point  la  ligne  de  demarcation  suivra 
la  crSte  des  montagnes  situ^es  paral- 
lelement  a  la  cote  jusqu'au  point 
d'intersection  du  I4ime  degr^  de  lon- 
gitude ouest  (meme  m^ridien),  et 
finalement,  du  dit  point  d'intersection 
la  meme  ligne  m^ridienne  du  i4ime 
degr^  formera,  dans  son  prolongement 
jusqu'a  la  mer  Glaciale,  la  limite 
entre  les  possessions  Russes  et  Brit- 
anniques sur  le  continent  de  I'Amer- 
ique nord-ouest. 


THE   TREATY   OF    1 86  7. 


121 


"  IV.  "With  reference  to  the  line  of 
demargation  laid  down  in  the  preced- 
ing article,  it  is  understood  — 

"  1st.  That  the  island  called  Prince 
of  Wales  Island  shall  belong  wholly 
to  Russia,"  (now  by  this  cession,  to 
the  United  States.) 

"2d.  That  whenever  the  summit 
of  the  mountains  which  extend  in  a 
direction  parallel  to  the  coast  from 
the  56th  degree  of  north  latitude  to 
the  point  of  intersection  of  the  141st 
degree  of  west  longitude  shall  prove 
to  be  at  the  distance  of  more  than  ten 
marine  leagues  from  the  ocean,  the 
limit  between  the  British  possessions 
and  the  line  of  coast  which  is  to  be- 
long to  Russia  as  above  mentioned 
(that  is  to  say,  the  limit  to  the  possess- 
ions ceded  by  this  convention)  shall 
be  formed  by  a  line  parallel  to  the 
winding  of  the  coast,  and  which  shall 
never  exceed  the  distance  of  ten  ma- 
rine leagues  therefrom." 

The  western  limit  within  which  the 
territories  and  dominion  conveyed, 
are  contained,  passes  through  a  point 
in  Behring's  straits  on  the  parallel  of 
sixty-five  degrees  thirty  minutes  north 
latitude,  at  its  intersection  by  the  me- 
ridian which  passes  midway  between 
the  islands  Krusenstem,  or  Ignalook, 
and  the  island  of  Ratmanoff,  or  Noo- 
narbook,  and  proceeds  due  north,  with- 
out limitation  into  the  same  Frozen 
Ocean.  The  same  western  limit,  be- 
ginning at  the  same  initial  point,  pro- 
ceeds thence  in  a  course  nearly 
southwest,  through  Behring's  straits 
and  Behring's  sea,  so  as  to  pass 
midway  between  the  northwest  point 
of  the  island  of  St.  Lawrence  and 
the  southeast  point  of  Cape  Chou- 
kotski,  to  the  meridian  of  one  hundred 
and  seventy-two  west  longitude ; 
thence,  from  the  intersection  of  that 
meridian,    in  a  southwesterly  direct- 


"  IV.  II  este  entendu,  par  rapport 
a  la  ligne  de  demarcation  ddtermin^e 
dans  1 'article  precedent : 

"  1°.  Que  I'ile  dite  Prince  of  Wales 
appartiendra  toute  entiere  a  la  Rus- 
sia;" (mais  des  ce  jour  en  vertu  de 
cette  cession  aux  Etats-Unis. ) 

"2°.  Que  partout  ou  la  crete  des 
montagnes  qui  s'dntendent  dans  une 
direction  parallele  a  la  cote,  depuis  le 
56me  degre  de  latitude  nord  au  point 
d'intersection  du  I4ime  degr6  de  lon- 
gitude ouest  se  trouverait  a  la  distance 
de  plus  de  dix  lieues  marines  de 
I'ocean,  la  limite  entre  les  possessions 
Britanniques  et  la  lisiere  de  cote  men- 
tionnee  ci-dessus  comme  devant 
appartenir  a  la  Russie "  (c'est-a-dire 
la  limite  des  possessionses  cedees  par 
cette  convention  :)  "sera  form^e  par 
une  ligne  parallele  aux  sinuosites  de 
la  cote  et  qui  ne  pour ra  jamais  en  etre 
eloignee  que  de  dix  lieues  marines." 

La  limite  occidentale  des  territoires 
cedes  passe  par  un  point  au  detroit  de 
Behring  sous  la  parallele  du  soixante 
cinquieme  degr^  trente  minutes  de 
latitude  Nord  a  son  intersection  par 
le  m^ridien  qui  separe  a  distance 
^gale  les  iles  Krusenstern  ou  Ignalook 
et  I'ile  Ratmanoflf  ou  Noonarbook  et 
remonte  en  ligne  directe,  sans  limita- 
tion, vers  le  Nord,  jusqu'a  ce  qu'elle 
se  perde  dans  la  mer  Glaciale.  Com- 
mengant  au  meme  point  de  depart, 
cette  limite  occidentale  suit  de  la  un 
cours  presque  Sudouest,  a  travers  le 
detroit  de  Behring  et  la  mer  de  Behr- 
ing, de  maniere  a  passer  a  distance 
6gale  entre  le  point  Nordouest  de 
I'ile  Saint  Laurent  et  le  point  Sudest 
du  cap  Choukotski  jusqu'au  m^ridien 
cent  soixante  douzieme  de  longitude 
Ouest;  de  ce  point,  a  partir  de  I'inter- 
section  de  ce  m^ridien,  cette  limite 
suit  une  direction  Sudouest  de  mani- 


122 


THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 


ion,  so  as  to  pass  midway  between  the 
island  of  Attou  and  the  Copper  island 
of  the  Kormandorski  couplet  or  group 
in  the  North  Pacific  ocean,  to  the  me- 
ridian of  one  hundred  and  ninety- 
three  degrees  west  longitude,  so  as  to 
include  in  the  territory  conveyed  the 
whole  of  the  Aleutian  islands  east  of 
that  meridian. 

Article  II. 
In  the  cession  of  territory  and  do- 
minion made  by  the  preceding  article, 
are  included  the  right  of  property  in 
all  public  lots  and  squares,  vacant 
lands,  and  all  public  buildings,  forti- 
fications, barracks,  and  other  edifices 
which  are  not  private  individual  prop- 
erty. It  is,  however,  understood  and 
agreed,  that  the  churches  which  have 
been  built  in  the  ceded  territory  by 
the  Russian  Government,  shall  remain 
the  property  of  such  members  of  the 
Greek  Oriental  Church  resident  in  the 
territory,  as  may  choose  to  worship 
therein.  Any  government  archives, 
papers  and  documents  relative  to  the 
territory  and  dominion  aforesaid, 
which  may  be  now  existing  there,  will 
be  left  in  the  possession  of  the  agent  of 
the  United  States;  but  an  authenticated 
copy  of  such  of  them  as  may  be  re- 
quired, will  be,  at  all  times,  given  by 
the  United  States  to  the  Russian  Gov- 
ernment, or  to  such  Russian  officers  or 
subjects,  as  they  may  apply  for. 

Article  III. 
The  inhabitants  of  the  ceded  terri- 
tory, according  to  their  choice,  reserv- 
ing their  natural  allegiance,  may  re- 
turn to  Russia  within  three  years;  but 
if  they  should  prefer  to  remain  in  the 
ceded  territory,  they,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  uncivilized  native  tribes,  shall 
be  admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  all 
rights,  advantages  and  immunities  of 
citizens  of   the   United  States,     and 


ere  a  passer  a  distance  6gale  entre 
I'lle  d'Attou  et  I'lle  Copper  du  groupe 
d'ilots  Kormandorski  dans  I'oc^an 
Pacifique  Septentrional  jusqu'au  meri- 
dien  de  cent  quatre-vingt  treize  degr^s 
de  longitude  Ouest,  de  maniere  a  en- 
claver,  dans  la  Territoire  c€d6  toutes 
les  lies  Almontes  situdes  a  Test  de  ce 
m6ridien. 

Article  II. 
Dans  le  Territoire  ced^,  par  Particle 
precedent  a  la  Souverainet^  des  Etats- 
Unis  sont  compris  le  droit  de  propriete 
sur  tons  les  terrains  et  places  publics, 
terres  inoccupdes,  toutes  les  construc- 
tions publiques,  fortifications,  casernes 
et  autres  Edifices  qui  ne  sont  pas  pro- 
priete priv^e  individuelle.  II  est 
toutefois  entendu  et  convenue  que  les 
^glises  construites  par  le  Gouverne- 
ment  Russe  sur  le  Territoire  c€d6 
resteront  la  propri^t^  des  membres  de 
I'Eglise  Grecque  Orientale  r^sidant 
dans  ce  Territoire  et  appartenant  a  ce 
culte.  Tons  les  archives  papiers  et 
documents  du  Gouvernement  ayant 
trait  au  susdit  Territoire  et  qui  y  sont 
maintenant  ddpos^s  seront  places 
entre  les  mains  de  1' agent  des  Etats- 
Unis;  mais  les  Etats-Unis  fourniront 
toujours  quand  il  y  aura  lieu,  des 
copies  l^galis^es  de  ces  documents  au 
Gouvernement  Russie,  aux  ofiiciers  ou 
sujets  Russes  qui  pourront  en  faire  la 
demande. 

Article  III. 
II  est  r^servd  aux  habitants  du  Ter- 
ritoire c^de  le  choix  de  garder  leur 
nationality  et  de  rentrer  en  Russie 
dans  I'espace  de  trois  ans;  mais  s'ils 
preferent  rester  dans  le  Territoire 
cdd6  ils  seront  admis,  a  I'exception 
toutefois  des  tribus  sauvages  a  jouir 
de  tons  les  droits,  avantages  et  im- 
munites  des  citoj-^ens  des  Etats-Unis  et 
ils  seront  maintenus  et  prot^g^s  dans 


THE    TREATY   OF    1 867. 


123 


shall  be  maintained  and  protected  in 
the  free  enjoyment  of  their  liberty, 
property  and  religion.  The  uncivil- 
ized tribes  will  be  subject  to  such  laws 
and  regulations  as  the  United  States 
may,  from  time  to  time,  adopt  in  re- 
gard to  aboriginal  tribes  in  that 
country. 

Article  IV. 

His  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  all  the 
Russias  shall  appoint, with  convenient 
dispatch,  an  agent  or  agents  for  the 
purpose  of  formally  delivering  to  a 
similar  agent  or  agents  appointed  on 
behalf  of  the  United  States,  the  terri- 
tory, dominion,  property,  dependen- 
cies and  appurtenances  which  are 
ceded  above,  and  for  doing  anj^  other 
act  which  may  be  necessary  in  regard 
thereto.  But  the  cession,  with  the 
right  of  immediate  possession,  is 
nevertheless  to  be  deemed  complete 
and  absolute  on  the  exchange  of  rati- 
fications without  waiting  for  formal 
delivery. 

Article  V. 

Immediately  after  the  exchange  of 
the  ratifications  of  this  convention, 
any  fortifications  or  military  posts 
which  may  be  in  the  ceded  territory, 
shall  be  delivered  to  the  agent  of  the 
United  States,  and  any  Russian  troops 
which  may  be  in  the  territory,  shall 
be  withdrawn  as  soon  as  may  be  rea- 
sonably and  conveniently  practicable. 

Article  VI. 
In  consideration  of  the  cession 
aforesaid,  the  United  States  agree  to 
pay  at  the  Treasury  in  Washington, 
within  ten  months  after  the  exchange 
of  the  ratifications  of  this  conven- 
tion, to  the  diplomatic  representative 
or  other  agent  of  His  Majesty  the 
Emperor  of  all  the  Russias,  duly  au- 
thorized to  receive  the  same,  seven 
million  two  hundred  thousand  dollars 


le  plein  exercise  de  leur  libertd,  droit 
de  propriety  et  religion.  Les  tribus 
sauvages  seront  assuj^ties  aux  lois  et 
reglements  que  le  Etats-Unis  pourront 
adopter  de  temps  en  temps  a  regard 
des  tribus  aborigenes  de  ce  pays. 


Article  IV. 

Sa  Majesty  I'Empereur  de  toutes 
les  Russies  nommera  aussitot  que  pos- 
sible un  agent  ou  des  agents  charges 
de  remettre  formellement  a  I'agent  ou 
aux  agents  nomm^s  par  les  Etats- 
Unis,  le  territoire,  la  souverainet^,  les 
propri^t^s,  d^pendances  et  apparte- 
nances  ainsi  c^d^s  et  de  dresser  tout 
autre  acte  qui  sera  n^cessaire  a  I'ac- 
complissement  de  cette  transaction. 
Mais  le  cession,  avec  le  droit  de  pos- 
session immediate,  doit  toutefois  etre 
consideree  complete  et  absolue  a  V€c- 
hange  des  ratifications  sans  attendre 
la  remise  formelle. 

Article  V. 
Imm^diatement  apres  I'dchange  des 
ratifications  de  cette  convention,  les 
fortifications  et  les  postes  militaires 
qui  se  trouveront  sur  le  territoire  ced^ 
seront  remis  a  I'agent  des  Etats-Unis 
et  les  troupes  Russies  qui  sont  station- 
n^es  dans  le  dit  Territoire,  seront  re- 
tirees dans  un  terme  praticable  et  qui 
puisse  convenir  aux  deux  parties. 

Article  VI. 
In  consideration  de  lasusdite  cession 
les  Etats-Unis  s'engagent  a  payer 
a  la  Tr^sorerie  a  Washington,  dans 
le  terme  de  dix  mois  apres  I'^change 
des  ratifications  de  cette  convention, 
sept  millions  deux  cent  mille  de  dol- 
lars en  or,  au  Representant  diplomat- 
ique ou  tout  outre  agent  de  Sa  Majeste 
I'Empereur  de  toutes  les  Russies 
dumeut     autoris^    a     recevoir     cette 


124 


THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 


in  gold.  The  cession  of  the  territory 
and  dominion  herein  made  is  hereby 
declared  to  be  free  and  unincumbered 
by  any  reservations,  privileges,  fran- 
chises, grants,  or  possessions,  by 
any  associated  companies,  whether 
corporate  or  incorporate,  Russian  or 
any  other,  or  by  any  parties  except 
merely  private  individual  property 
holders;  and  the  cession  hereby  made, 
conveys  all  the  rights,  franchises,  and 
privileges  now  belonging  to  Russia  in 
the  said  territory  or  dominion,  and 
appurtenances  thereto. 

Article  VII. 

When  this  convention  shall  have 
been  duly  ratified  by  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  by  and  with  the  ad- 
vice and  consent  of  the  Senate,  on  the 
one  part,  and  on  the  other  by  his  Ma- 
jesty the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias, 
the  ratifications  shall  be  exchanged  at 
Washington  within  three  months  from 
the  date  hereof,  or  sooner,  if  possible. 

In  faith  whereof,  the  respective 
plenipotentiaries  have  signed  this  con- 
vention, and  thereto  aflfxed  the  seals 
of  their  arms. 

Done  at  Washington,  the  thirtieth 
day  of  March,  in  the  year  of  our 
Lord  one  thousand  eight  htmdred  and 
sixty -seven. 

[l.  s.]  William  H.  Seward, 
[l.  s.]  Edouard  De  Stoeckl. 


somme.  La  cession  du  territoire  avec 
droit  de  souverainet^  faite  par  cette 
convention,  est  d^clar^e  libre  et 
d^gag^e  de  toutes  reservations,  pri- 
vileges, franchises  ou  des  possessions 
par  des  compagnies  Russies  ou  tout 
autre  legalement  constituees  ou  autre - 
ment  ou  par  des  associations  sauf  sim- 
plement  les  propri^taires  possedant 
des  biens  prives  individuels  et  la  ces- 
sion ainsi  faite  transfere  tous  les  droits, 
franchises  et  privileges  appartenant 
actuellement  a  la  Russie  dans  le  dit 
Territoire  et  ces  ddpendances. 

Article  VII. 

Lorsque  cette  convention  aura  ^t^ 
dument  ratifi^e  par  Sa  Majesty  I'Em- 
pereur  de  toutes  les  Russies  d'une 
part  et  par  le  President  des  Etats- 
Unis  avec  I'avis  et  le  consentement  du 
Senat  de  I'autre,  les  ratifications  en 
seront  dchangees  a  Washington  dans 
le  terme  de  trois  mois,  a  compter  du 
jour  de  la  signature,  ou  plus  tot  si 
faire  se  peut. 

En  foi  de  quoi  les  pl^nipotentiaires 
respectifs  ont  signe  cette  convention 
et  y  ont  appos^  le  sceau  de  leur  armes. 

Fait  a  Washington  le  18-30  jour  de 
Mars  de  I'an  de  Notre  Seigneur  mil 
huit  cent  soixante  sept. 

[l.  s.]  Edouard  De  Stoeckl. 
[l.  s.]  William  H.  Seward. 


REMARKS  UPON  THE  TREATY  OF  1867. 


It  is  noticed,  in  comparing  this  treaty  with  that  of  the  conven- 
tion of  1825  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  that  the  descrip- 
tions of  the  line  of  demarcation,  and  the  strip  of  the  continental 
shore  bounding  the  Archipelago  Alexander  are  identical.  There 
is,  however,  one  omission  in  the  English  text  of  the  second  para- 
graph of  Article  I,  occurring  after  the  words  "Frozen  Ocean." 
There  are  two  minor  mistakes  in  paragraph  "2d,"  of  Article  I, 
where  "whenever"  is  used  instead  of  "wherever;"  and  where 
"winding"  is  used  for  "windings."  These  and  others  may  be 
errors  of  the  proof  reader  of  the  document  from  which  we  have 
extracted  the  text. 

The  same  English  translations  are  given  to  the  French  words 
sinuosites,  crete,  limite  and  lisiere,  as  in  the  convention  of  1825; 
and  we  contend  that  the  same  explanation  be  given  to  these  words 
that  we  have  already  presented. 

In  further  comparison  it  will  be  seen  that  the  important  Articles 
V,  VI,  VII  and  VIII  of  the  1825  treaty,  have  no  place  or  mention 
in  this  treaty.  In  Article  VI  of  this  treaty  especial  force  is  given 
to  the  cession  of  the  territory  by  unqualifiedly  declaring  it  free  of 
all  incumbrances  of  corporate  or  incorporate  companies;  and  that 
all  and  every  of  Russia's  sovereign  rights  are  given  to  the  United 
States.  Yet  there  is  one  point  of  difference  that  should  be  men- 
tioned. In  the  Convention  of  1825,  Article  VI,  it  is  agreed  that 
the  subjects  of  Great  Britain,  *  *  *  "jouiront  a  perpetuite 
du  droit  de  naviguer  librement,  et  sans  entrave  quelconque,  sur 
uV  to^s  les  fleuves  et  rivieres,  qui,  dans  leurs  cours  vers  le  mer  Paci- 
/  fique,  traverseront  la  ligne  de  demarcation  sur  la  lisiere  de  la  Cote 
indiqu6e  dans  1' Article  3  de  la  pr^sente  Convention." 

The  published  negotiations  afford  us  the  following  partial  history 
of  this  grant  in  perpetuity.  In  March,  1824,  Sir  Charles  Bagot 
forwarded  to  Mr.  George  Cannin<^  the  document  entitled  "Obser- 
vations of  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  on  Sir  C.  Bagot' s  amended 
Proposal,"  in  which  occurs  this  item:  "Les  Plenipotentiaries  de 
Sa  Majesty  Impdriale,  prevoyant  meme  le  case  oii,  sur  la  lisiere  de 


126  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

la  cote  qui  appartiendroit  k  la  Russie,  il  se  trouveroit  des  fleuves  au 
moyen  desquels  les  E^tablissements  Anglois  pourroient  communi- 
quer  avec  1' Ocean,  se  sont  empresses  d'oflfrir,  par  une  stipulation 
eventuelle,  la  libre  navigation  de  ces  fleuves. ' '  * 

On  the  29th  of  May,  1824,  M^-  George  Canning,  writing  to 
Count  Lieven,  wanted  from  Russia  "precise  and  positive  stipula- 
tions for  the  free  use  of  all  rivers  which  may  be  found  to  empty 
themselves  into  the  sea  within  the  Russian  frontier. ' '  f 

On  the  I2th  of  July,  1824,  Mr.  George  Canning  inclosed  a  Draft 
Convention  to  Sir  Charles  Bagot,  in  which  the  same  claim  is  made 
in  Article  III:  "3.  Que  la  navigation  et  le  commerce  des 
fleuves  du  continent  traversant  cette  lisiere,  seront  libres  aux  sujets 
Britanniques,  taut  a  ceux  habitant  ou  frequentant  I'interieur  de  ce 
continent,  qu'a  ceux  qui  aborderont  ces  parages  du  cote  de  1' Ocean 
Pacifique."t 

Sir  Charles  Bagot  wrote  to  Mr.  George  Canning,  August  12th, 
1824:  "  There  are  three  points  upon  which  the  differences  appear 
to  be  almost,  if  not   altogether,  irreconcilable.     These  points  are: 

"  I .  As  to  the  opening  /or  ever  to  the  commerce  of  British 
subjects,  of  the  port  of  Novo  Archangelsk. 

"2.  As  to  the  liberty  to  be  granted  to  British  subjects  to  navi- 
gate and  trade  for  ever  along  the  coast  of  the  lisQre  which  it  is 
proposed  to  cede  to  Russia,  from  the  Portland  Channel,  to  the  60th 
degree  of  north  latitude,  and  the  islands  adjacent. ' '  § 

On  the  first  point  the  Russians  were  willing  to  grant  a  ten  years 
permission,  and  might  probably  renew  it,  but  they  would  not 
consent  to  divest  themselves  forever  of  a  discretionary  power  by 
granting  such  a  power  in  perpetuity. 

On  the  second  point,  they  were  * '  ready  to  grant  for  ever  the 
right  of  ingress  and  egress  into  and  from  whatever  rivers  may  flow 
from  the  American  continent  and  fall  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  within 
the  above  described  lisiere  but  that  they  can,  under  no  circum- 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :  Vol.  IV,  p.  429. 

t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :  Vol.  IV,  p.  432. 

t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :  Vol.  IV,  p.  435. 

§  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :  Vol.  IV,  p.  439. 


RUSSIA   WILL   NOT  YIELD  THE    LISIERE.  1 27 

stances,  and  by  no  supposed  correspondent  advantages,  be  induced 
to  grant  to  any  Power  the  privilege  to  navigate  and  trade  in  per- 
petuity within  a  country  the  full  sovereignty  of  which  was  to 
belong  to  Russia;  that  such  perpetual  concession  was  repugnant  to 
all  national  feeling,  and  was  inconsistent  with  the  very  idea  of 
sovereignty."     (Page  440.) 

The  Counter-Draft  of  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  has  the 
following  proposition  on  the  same  subject  in  Article  III  : 

"4.  Que  sur  la  lisiere  de  la  dite  cote  indiquee  en  I'Article  11 
de  la  presente  Convention  comme  appartenante  a  la  Russie  les 
sujets  de  Sa  Majeste  Britannique  jouiront  a  perpetuite  de  la  libre 
navigation  des  fleuves,  soit  qu'ils  habitent  I'interieur  du  continent, 
soit  qu'ils  veulent  y  arriver  de  1' Ocean  Pacifique  au  moyen  de  ces 
memes  fleuves. ' '  * 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbittation:    VoL  IV,  p.  442. 


GEOGRAPHICAL  CHARACTER  OF  CERTAIN  PARTS  OF 
THE  ARCHIPELAGO  ALEXANDER. 


Before  presenting  the  list  of  maps  and  charts  which  have  been 
consulted  to  indicate  the  practice  adopted  by  the  Russians,  French, 
English,  Canadians  and  Americans,  in  noting  the  limits  of  the 
lisiere,  we  deem  it  better  to  give  more  explicit  explanations  of  the 
geographical  character  of  important  localities  than  we  have  already 
ofifered.  For  this  purpose  we  commence  with  the  continental 
shore,  Dixon  Entrance,  etc.,  and  make  explanatory  notes  thereon. 

The  Continental  Shore. 

In  the  matter  of  the  lisiere,  the  fact  must  not  be  overlooked 
that  Vancouver's  voyage  of  discovery  and  exploration  was  to  deter- 
mine whether  there  was  any  line  of  deep  water  communication 
between  the  northeast  Pacific  Ocean  and  the  Atlantic.  It  had  no 
reference  whatever  to  fur  trading. 

In  1778,  Captain  James  Cook  in  his  last  celebrated  voyage  had 
failed  to  see  the  entrance  to  the  Columbia  River  and  the  Strait  of 
Fuca.  He  merely  touched  at  Friendly  Cove,  Nootka  Sound,  in 
latitude  49°  35'  V.  I.,  and  did  not  again  close  upon  the  land  until  he 
reached  Mount  Edgecumbe  at  Sitka  Sound  in  latitude  57°  03'.  He 
visited  Prince  William  Sound,  Cooks  Inlet,  and  afterwards  reached 
as  high  as  70°  in  the  Arctic. 

Doubts  were  expressed  of  the  sufficiency  of  his  explorations 
where  the  Spaniards  had  found  great  straits  and  archipel- 
agoes, and  the  expedition  of  1790  was  fitted  out  under  Van- 
couver, who  had  been  with  Cook  on  his  last  two  voyages.  We 
have  already  quoted  from  the  records  to  show  that  Vancouver  was 
to  thoroughly  examine  the  Continental  shore  of  Northwest  America. 
In  that  hazardous  duty  his  vessels  or  his  boats  examined  the  shores 
of  every  bay  and  inlet  that  indented  the  coast,  to  a  satisfactory 
distance.  In  some  cases  his  boats  were  stopped  by  glaciers  at  the 
heads  of  inlets;  and  in  others  bad  weather  prevented  exhaustive 
examination   and  observations  for  geographical  positions.     Some 


130  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

arms  were  not  followed  out  because  the  high,  snow-covered  moun- 
tains forbade  the  idea  of  a  continental  passage  way. 

In  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  Lieutenant  Whidbey's  boats 
met  all  these  difficulties,  besides  icebergs  and  hostile  natives;  and 
while  he  did  not  reach  the  great  arms  of  Holkham  Bay,  and  did 
not  locate  the  Stakheen,  it  is  astonishing  how  much  good  work 
was  done. 

These  results,  with  those  of  Lieutenant  Johnstone,  and  of  Van- 
couver himself,  made  possible  a  chart  that  became  the  basis  for 
the  convention  of  1825  ^^^  ^^^  treaty  of  1867. 

In  1799,  Governor  Baranof  transferred  the  headquarters  of  the 
fur  hunting  and  trading  parties  from  Kadiak  Island  to  New 
Archangel  or  Sitka  in  1799;  and  it  is  a  reasonable  supposition  that 
the  Russian  traders  of  the  Company  during  the  next  twenty  years 
learned  of  the  existence  of  the  Chilkaht  River,  Taiya  Inlet,  Endi- 
cott  and  other  penetrating  arms,  and  many  small  bays  and  villages. 
They  may  have  only  estimated  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
inlets.  All  such  information  naturally  reached  Baranof,  who  was 
also  well  aware  that  the  American  and  British  fur  traders  had  sold 
firearms,  powder  and  spirituous  liquors  to  the  natives,  and  were 
making  serious  inroads  into  the  trade  of  the  Russian  American 
Company.  It  is  a  fair  and  reasonable  inference  that  the  Company 
suggested  to  the  Government  the  necessity  for  securing  all  the 
Pacific  waters  to  Russia  and  her  people ;  and  when  that  advice  took 
form  in  the  shape  of  the  Ukase  of  182 1  and  was  withdrawn,  the 
next  proceeding  was  to  secure  absolute  control  of  the  Archipelago 
Alexander  and  the  contiguous  territory. 

The  Convention  of  1825,  having  the  trustworthy  charts  and 
narrative  of  Vancouver,  and  the  advice  and  twenty  years  informa- 
tion of  the  Russian  American  Company,  was  in  the  possession  of 
materials  sufficient  to  declare  a  governing  line  of  boundary  between 
the  Russian  and  British  Possessions  of  North  America. 

The  published  memoranda  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  did  not 
add  any  information  to  the  subject. 


approaches  to  portland  inlet.  131 

Dixon   Entrance. 

We  have  elsewhere  noted  the  discovery  of  this  large  area  of 
water  by  Perez  in  1774,  and  the  various  names  applied  by  different 
authorities. 

One  of  the  contentions  made  about  the  southern  part  of  the 
boundary  line,  is  the  absence  of  any  mention  in  the  Convention 
of  the  distance  to  be  traversed  between  the  southernmost  point  of 
Prince  of  Wales  Island  and  the  entrance  to  Portland  Canal. 

The  negotiators  were  well  aware  of  these  waters,  as  is  shown  by 
Sir  Charles  Bagot's  "Amended  Proposal"  of  March  17,  1824:* 
"en  r^ponse  ^  la  proposition  faite  par  les  Plenipotentiaires  Russes, 
qu'une  ligne  de  demarcation  trac^e  de  I'extremite  meridionale  de 
rile  du  Prince  de  Galles  jusqu'a  1' embouchure  du  Canal  de  Port- 
land, de  la  par  le  milieu  de  ce  canal  jusqu'a  ce  qu'elle  touche  la 
terre  ferme,"  etc. 

The  Plenipotentiaries  did  not  know  the  length  of  that  easterly 
line;  nor  could  they  vouch  for  the  Spanish  determination  of  the 
three  southern  points  of  the  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  except  they 
believed  they  were  about  54°  40',  and  the  longitude  of  the  southern- 
most might  be  between  131'  and  133°  of  longitude. 

The  Russians  very  appropriately  named  the  present  Dixon 
Entrance,  "  Granitza  Strait,"  i.  e.  "Boundary  Strait;"  suggestive 
of  the  line  of  the  boundary  of  1825. 

Prince  of  Wales  Island. 

We  have  quoted  from  Vancouver's  narrative  his  surmise  that 
there  might  be  channels  running  through  the  large  island  Prince 
of  Wales,  but  that  part  of  the  island  which  he  coasted  does  not 
support  his  view;  and  even  when  he  added  the  southwestern  and 
western  parts  from  the  Spanish  explorers,  he  properly  lays  down 
the  whole  area  as  one  island.  Nevertheless  his  suspicions  of  its 
broken  character  caused  him  to  name  it  the  "  Prince  of  Wales's 
Archipelago."  In  this  he  was  not  adhering  to  the  facts  as  he 
knew  them,  but  to  his  suspicions. 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.     Volume  IV,  page  427. 


132  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

In  the  negotiations  from  1822  to  1825,  it  would  seem  that  both 
Governments  must  have  assumed  the  face  of  the  chant  to  indicate 
the  whole  area  of  that  Archipelago  as  an  island.  We  do  not  find 
in  their  negotiations  that  the  Plenipotentiaries  refer  to  it  as  an 
Archipelago;  it  is  always  called  the  "  Prince  of  Wales  Island,"  or 
"I'lle  du  Prince  de  Galles."  Sir  George  Simpson  in  1847  refers 
to  it  as  "a  certain  island  which  the  parallel  of  56°  intersects." 
The  Russian  Admiralty  Chart  No,  10  of  the  Eastern  ocean  series, 
has  a  dotted  channel  through  the  southwestern  part;  and  Teben- 
kof  s  chart  No.  9  of  1849  has  a  similarly  marked  channel,  probably 
to  indicate  some  report  of  the  Russian  traders. 

Portland  Canal. 

One  of  the  points  of  contention  relates  wholly  to  this  long  and 
important  Inlet,  Channel  or  Canal.  Elsewhere  we  have  traced  its 
history,  name  and  geography;  and  in  our  remarks  upon  Dixon 
Entrance,  we  have  shown  that  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  both  coun- 
tries knew  it  from  Vancouver's  charts  and  its  narrative,  and  that 
they  fully  understood  the  relation  of  its  entrance  or  embouchure  to 
the  southernmost  point  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island.  It  had  been 
surveyed  by  the  Spaniards;  entered  by  an  English  fur  trader  with 
three  vessels  who  advised  Vancouver  of  its  existence ;  surveyed  by 
Vancouver;  examined  to  its  head  by  Vancouver  personally,  and 
his  two  ships  had  entered  and  left  it. 

It  is  a  three  miles  wide  opening  with  bold  approaches  and  deep 
water,  and  not  an  obscure  strait  like  the  Pearse  Inlet  of  to-day, 
which  is  hidden  by  a  number  of  islands  north  of  Point  Wales,  and 
was  condemned  by  Vancouver. 

The  Plenipotentiaries  did  not  adhere  to  Vancouver's  name,  which 
on  the  chart  is  Portland  Canal,  and  that  to  the  upper  part  only. 
The  engraver  could  not  well  do  otherwise.  The  text  of  the  con- 
vention names  it  Portland  Channel,  and  the  first  application 
of  that  name  we  can  find  is  its  use  by  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries 
in  their  observations  on  Sir  Charles  Bagot's  "Amended  Proposal  " 
of  March  17,  1824,  paragraphs  i  and  2.  The  ist  paragraph 
commences,  "Toute  la  partie  de  la  cote  situee  eutre  1' embouchure 


PORTLAND   CHANNEL.  1 33 

du  Portland  Channel    et  le  516    degre    de   latitude    nord,"    etc.* 

We  have  called  attention  to  the  fact  that  Mr,  Findlay,  F.  R.  G. 
S.,  who  wrote  the  Directory  of  the  Pacific  Coast  in  1851,  reckoned 
that  Portland  Canal  terminated  at  Cape  Fox,  the  southern  point  of 
the  Continental  shore  in  latitude  54°  46'.  That  would  place  the 
entrance  between  Cape  Fox  and  Point  Maskelyne,  which  is  fifteen 
miles  to  the  eastsoutheast,  and  would  subordinate  all  the  intricacies 
of  the  Tongass  and  other  channels  to  the  master  channel,  Portland 
Inlet. 

Another  point  of  contention  about  Portland  Canal  is  that  it 
does  not  reach  the  56th  degree  of  latitude.  That  is  a  question  of 
a  few  miles  that  later  surveys  have  shown  to  exist  if  deep  water  is 
reckoned  as  the  head  of  this  and  all  other  inlets  or  sinuosities. 
We  have  shown  that  Vancouver  estimated  the  latitude  he  has 
given  upon  his  chart;  bad  weather  prevented  observations;  and 
the  strong  currents  would  affect  his  judgment  as  to  distances  sailed. 

Whatever  the  latitude  reached  by  that  canal.  Great  Britain  had 
and  has  her  rights  to  the  east  of  the  line  through  the  thread  of  the 
channel  way. 

The  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  in  their  observations  on  Sir 
Charles  Bagot's  "Amended  Proposal"  (already  quoted)  say,  *  *  * 
"le  Portland  Channel,  dont  I'origine  dans  les  terres  est  par  le  56e 
degre  de  latitude  nord. ' ' 

Count  Nesselrode  in  his  letter  of  April  17,  1823,  to  Count  Lie ven 
wrote:  "Afin  de  ne  pas  couper  I'lle  du  Prince  de  Galles,  qui  selon 
cet  arrangement  devoit  rester  a  la  Russie,  nous  proposions  de  porter 
la  frontiere  meridionale  de  nos  domaines  an  54°  40'  de  latitude  et 
de  la  faire  aboutir  sur  le  Continent  au  Portland  Canal,  dont  I'em- 
bouchure  dans  1' Ocean  est  a  la  hauteur  de  I'lle  du  Prince  de  Galles 
et  I'origine  dans  les  terres  entre  le  55°et  56°  de  latitude,  "f 

Both  Governments  had  accepted  that  condition  and  therefore 
conveyed  it  into  the  Convention.  The  shores  of  the  upper  part  of 
Portland  Canal  were  part  of  the  Continental  shore,  and  the  relation 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    VoL  IV,  p.  428. 

t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration:    Vol.  IV,  p.  399.  Judge  Glass  has  accidentally  given  the 
year  as  1824;  see  his  paper,  page  554. 


134  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

of  its  entrance  to  the  southern  point  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island  was 
again  announced. 

The  latest  hydrographic  and  topographic  detailed  surveys  of  the 
United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  survey,  show  that  the  deep 
water  of  the  Channel  reaches  latitude  55°  55';  that  the  caiion-like 
continuation,  reduced  to  one-half  its  former  width,  reaches  latitude 
56°  02'  and  is  filled  with  detritus  through  which  the  Bear  River 
empties  into  the  Canal. 

Mr.  R.  E.  Gosnell,  Librarian  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
British  Columbia  and  Secretary  of  the  Bureau  of  Statistics,  says, 
in  his  Year  Book  of  1897 :  Up  to  1872  "the  question  had  not  been 
raised  as  to  the  Portland  Canal.  The  latter  was  practically  accepted 
by  both  parties  as  the  proper  boundary."  (Page  96.)  And  "up 
to  1885  it  does  not  appear  that  a  line  through  '  Portland  Channel ' 
was  ever  questioned.  The  issue  was  raised  by  the  late  Mr.  Justice 
Gray  of  Victoria,  B.  C."     (Page  97.) 

Any  further  contention  upon  this  point  is  simply  querulous. 

"La  Cre;te  Des  Montagnes." 

One  of  the  points  at  issue  is  the  crest-line,  water-parting  or 
Crete  of  the  mountains  surrounding  the  Archipelago  Alexander 
from  Portland  Canal  to  the  northward  and  westward,  which  moun- 
tains according  to  Article  III  of  the  Convention  of  1825  are 
assumed  to  run  parallel  to  the  coast;  and  in  Article  IV,  their 
relation  thereto  is  further  explained. 

We  have  shown  from  Vancouver's  charts  that  he  laid  down,  by 
conventional  or  arbitrary  signs,  a  chain  of  mountains  from  Cali- 
fornia to  his  northernmost  work  in  Cooks  Inlet.  The  navigator 
and  the  geographer  making  a  reconnaissance  of  the  coast,  and 
unfurnished  by  modem  means  and  methods,  would  do  the  same. 
The  mountains  are  there,  and  they  aflford  peaks  that  are  the  land- 
falls of  the  navigator.  Sometimes  they  are  close  upon  the  shore, 
as  the  "Twin  Peaks"  in  latitude  35°  51'  where  one  of  them  rises 
to  5,100  feet  elevation  in  two  and  three-quarter  miles  from  the 
shore;  or  the  range  may  break  down  as  abreast  of  Bodega  Bay,  or 
on  the  Oregon   and   Washington   coast,  where   the   more   distant 


THE  CREST- LINE   OF  THE   MOUNTAINS.  1 35 

mountains  are  visible.  These  coast  mountains  may  be  a  single 
line,  or  there  may  be  two,  three,  or  even  four  parallel  ridges, 
forming  what  is  known,  on  this  coast,  as  the  "Coast  Range." 

Vancouver  was  using  the  method  which  had  been  followed  by 
Captain  James  Cook  in  the  same  region  as  shown  on  his  charts. 
Vancouver  had  been  with  Cook  on  his  last  two  voyages  to  the 
Pacific,  and  the  same  method  has  been  followed  by  English, 
Russian,  French  and  American  geographers  and  navigators.  For 
examples  see  chart  of  San  Francisco  Bay  by  Capt.  F.  W.  Beechey, 
R.  N.,  in  1826;  the  Strait  of  Juan  de  Fuca  by  Capt.  Henry 
Kellett,  R.  N.,  1847,  chart  No.  1911;  Haro  and  Rossario  Straits 
by  Capt.  G.  H.  Richards,  R.  N.,  1858-9,  chart  No.  2689;  Cape 
Caution  to  Port  Simpson  by  Daniel  Pender,  Navigating  Lieutenant, 
R.  N.,  1867;  French  chart  of  the  west  coast  of  America,  No.  1769, 
San  Diego  to  latitude  S3H°'i  ^^-  ^997)  ^^^  Diego  to  Gulf  of 
Tehuantepec,  1863,  both  published  "par  ordre  de  I'Empereur." 
To  these  add  the  reconnaissance  of  the  Coast  of  California  and 
Oregon  by  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  in  1850-53;  and  the 
latter  reconnaissance  of  the  Coast  of  Lower  California  in  1874. 
The  Russian  charts  by  Tebenkof  show  similar  conventional  signs 
for  mountain  chains  or  ranges;  so  do  the  charts  in  the  Atlas  of 
Duflot  de  Mofras,  1844. 

Another  contention  in  relation  to  the  mountains  of  the  text  of 
the  Convention  is  that  it  does  not  mention  any  chain  of  mountains; 
that  is  true  as  to  the  specific  term,  yet  if  we  examine  the  corre- 
spondence of  the  Plenipotentiaries,  we  learn  they  used  the  term,  as 
if  they  recognized  what  Vancouver  had  depicted.  The  criticism 
by  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  of  Sir  Charles  Bagot's  "Amended 
Proposal,"  says*:  "Tout  le  territoire  situe  derriere  la  chaine  de 
montagnes  dont  il  a  ^te  question  ci-dessus,  jusqu'au  point  d' inter- 
section du  i39e  degre  de  longitude,  meridien  de  Greenwich." 
And  Count  Lieven  in  his  memorandum  on  the  North  West  Coast 
Convention  contends  (page  438,)  that  in  fixing  a  boundary  by 
* '  une  chaine  de  montagnes  "  it  is  always  the  ' '  czme  ' '  of  the 
mountains  which   forms   the   line   of  demarcation.     Mr.    George 

*  Juir  Seal  Arbitration  :    Volume  IV,  page  429. 


136  THE   AI.ASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Canning  had  been  contending  for  the  ' '  seaward  base  ' '  of  the  moun- 
tains, lest  the  crest-line  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  might  be  claimed. 
That  is  the  only  time  in  which  we  find  the  word  ' '  cime ' '  used ;  it 
has  a  different  and  more  restricted  application  than  the  word 
"Crete." 

The  boundary  was  to  be  the  "crete  "  of  these  mountains  if  the 
range  should  prove  to  be  less  than  ten  marine  leagues  from  the 
sinuosities  of  the  coast  or  continental  shore.  We  have  already 
insisted  that  the  English  translation  of  the  word  ' '  crete  ' '  by 
' '  summit ' '  is  unsatisfactory  unless  we  place  a  meaning  thereto 
differerent  from  what  its  plural  would  imply.  Mr.  George  Canning 
in  his  letter  of  July  24,  1824,  to  Sir  Charles  Bagot,  said  that  "no 
great  inconvenience  can  arise  from  your  Excellency  *  *  * 
consenting  to  substitute  the  summit  of  the  mountains  instead  ot 
the  seaward  base, ' '  etc.  *  We  submit  that  the  ' '  summit ' '  of  the 
mountains  conveys  an  idea  of  continuity  in  the  chain  of  moun- 
tains; the  "summits"  might  be  isolated  and  prominent  peaks  not 
necessarily  in  the  crest-line.  This  term  crest-line  is  the  best 
translation  of  the  French  term  ' '  crete, "  as  we  have  already  stated. 

Judge  Glass,  in  his  paper  before  referred  to,t  misquotes  the 
English  translation  of  the  text  of  the  Convention.  He  says,  "the 
facts  are  that  the  treaty  makers  knew  there  were  no  mountain 
ranges,  and  therefore  the  treaty  directs  that  the  line  shall  follow 
'  the  summits  of  the  mountains  situated  parallel  to  the  coast. '  ' ' 
Three  paragraphs  before  that  quotation,  he  refers  twice  to  "  sum- 
mits ;' '  and  later  he  says  he  personally  ' '  saw  them  there  in  Septem- 
ber, 1898,  just  as  they  were  in  1825."  He  perhaps  thought  it 
was  very  unfortunate  that  Vancouver  did  not  locate  the  ' '  Devils 
Thumb"  and  "Kates  Needles"  of  the  surveys  of  1894-5. 

The  assertion  which  Judge  Glass  makes  that  ' '  the  treaty 
makers  knew  that  there  were  no  mountain  ranges,"  is  not  borne 
out  by  Vancouver's  chart,  which  has  one  continuous  and  well 
marked  range.  We  add  another  quotation  on  this  point :  In  the 
"Observations  of  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  of  Sir  C.  Bagot' s 
amended    Proposal"  part  of  paragraph    six  reads,    "le   Portland 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Vol.  IV,  page  437. 

\  Anglo-American  Magazine,  December,  1899,  page  551,  last  paragraph. 


THE    NEGOTIATORS   AND   THE    SINUOSITIES.  1 37 

Channel,  dont  I'origine  dans  les  terres  est  par  le  56e  degre  de 
latitude  nord,  et,  h.  Test,  la  chaine  de  montagnes,  qui  soit  a  une 
tres  petite  distance  les  sinuosit^s  de  la  cote."     (Page  428.) 

The  Sinuosities  of  the  Coast. 

One  of  the  chief  points  of  attack  upon  the  Convention  of  1825 
has  been  the  decree  that  the  boundary  line  between  the  British 
possessions  and  the  lisiere  of  the  coast,  shall  be  formed  by  a  line 
parallel  to  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast.  The  English  translation 
of  the  French  word  "sinuosites"  in  the  text,  is  "windings," 
which  is  not  an  equivalent,  nor  is  it  applicable.  We  have  shown 
by  English  authority  from  Cook  to  the  present  time,  that  the 
English  word  sinuosity  is  used  by  navigators  and  geographers. 

The  word  has  been  considered  so  important  in  this  question  that 
Dr.  George  M.  Dawson  in  his  letter  of  February  7,  1888,*  has 
misquoted  the  expression  in  the  Convention:  "sera  formee  par 
une  ligne  parallele  aux  sinuosites  de  la  Cote,"  and  presents  an 
altogether  different  statement  "  cera  formee  une  ligne  parallele  a 
la  cote."  The  Convention  language  was  too  clear  and  too  expres- 
sive, and  it  was  necessary  to  sink  it. 

Vancouver's  charts  had  laid  down  deep  inlets  in  the  continental 
shore  from  the  Strait  of  Fuca  to  Lynn  Canal;  and  in  the  years 
from  1799  when  Baranof  made  Sitka  the  center  of  trade  activity 
to  the  years  of  the  Convention  discussion,  the  traders  and  explorers 
of  the  Russian  American  Company  must  have  learned  more  of  the 
inlets  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander  than  the  charts  presented.  It 
was  Baranof 's  avowed  policy  to  beat  all  the  trading  companies  of 
other  nations  in  that  region,  and  along  the  whole  coast;  and  the 
information  of  the  Russian  Company  influenced  the  Russian  Pleni- 
potentiaries to  exclude  all  foreign  traffic  from  and  through  the 
lisiere  by  means  of  the  deep  inlets  or  sinuosities.  In  the  Conven- 
tion British  subjects  were  granted  the  right  of  freely  navigating 
the  streams  and  rivers;  but  they  were  not  granted  any  right  to  use 
the  inlets  or  sinuosities  for  crossing  the  lisiere.  They  were  also 
given  liberty  to  frequent  all  the  seas,  gulfs,  havens  and  creeks  of 

*  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146,  soth  Congress,  2d  Session.    March  2,  18S9.    Page  5. 


138  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

the  Archipelago  for  the  purpose  of  trade  with  the  natives  for  a 
period  of  ten  years.  Nearly  all  the  arms,  inlets  or  sinuosities 
would  have  presented  insuperable  barriers  in  the  high,  ice-clad 
mountains  to  reach  the  interior;  there  were  no  practicable  routes, 
save  by  the  White,  Chilkoot  and  Chilkaht  Passes. 

It  has  been  developed  by  the  recent  surveys  that  from  some  of 
Vancouver's  bays  on  this  part  of  the  continental  shore,  long  and 
deep  arms  penetrate  for  miles  beyond  what  his  boats  had  reached; 
and  the  value  of  the  term  ' '  sinuosities, ' '  thus  becomes  more 
important  to  the  United  States. 

These  canals,  inlets  or  sinuosities  form  part  of  the  continental 
shore,  even  to  their  heads.  Mr.  George  Canning,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Foreign  Office,  has  admitted  that  the  coast  reaches  to  the  head 
of  Portland  Canal.  In  his  letter  of  July  12,  1824,  to  Sir  Charles 
Bagot,  he  inclosed  a  ' '  Draft  Convention, ' '  wherein  we  find  at  page 
435,  Article  II,  this  expression:*  "la  ligne  de  la  frontiere,  entre 
les  possessions  Britanniques  et  Russes,  remontera,  au  nord,  par  la 
passe  dite  le  Portland  Channel,  jusqu'a  ce  qu'elle  touche  a  la  cote 
de  la  terre  ferme  situee  au  56e  degr^  de  latitude  nord.  De  ce  point 
elle  suivra  cette  cote,  parall^lement  k  ses  sinuosites, ' '  etc.  In  the 
English  translation  of  this  text  he  first  uses  the  word  ' '  windings. ' ' 

Four  months  before  this  Draft  Convention  was  introduced,  the 
Russians  had  proposed  a  line  of  demarcation  to  follow  the  sinuosi- 
ties, without  any  accompanying  English  translation. 

The  Counter-Draft  by  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  submitted 
to  Sir  Charles  Bagot,  March  17,  1824,  proposed  the  line  of  demar- 
cation from  the  southern  point  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island  through 
Portland  Canal  to  its  head,  and  then,  ' '  De  ce  point,  la  limite 
reraonteroit  le  long  de  ces  montagnes  parallelement  aux  sinuosites 
dela  c6te,"t  etc. 

If  the  shore  of  the  continent  reaches  the  head  of  that  canal,  we 
submit  it  reaches  the  heads  of  all  other  inlets  as  Endicott,  Taku 
and  Taiya,  and  Glacier  and  Yakutat  Bays. 

*  J^ur  Seal  Arbilralion  :    Volume  IV,  page  434  et  seq. 

t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Vol.  IV,  page  427.     Paragraph  five. 


THE    NEGOTIATORS   AND   THE    LISIERE.  1 39 

That  Draft  Convention  and  the  Counter-Draft  of  the  Russian 
Plenipotentiaries  were  the  bases  of  the  terms  of  the  Convention. 

The  IvIsie:re  or  Border  of  the  Coast. 

On  March  17  (29)  1824,  ^^^  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  made 
known  to  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  the  last  propositions 
which  Sir  Charles  Bagot  had  presented  to  them  for  the  location  of 
the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  British  and  Russian  Pos- 
sessions. 

The  Emperor  carefully  examined  and  considered  them  and 
declared  they  could  not  be  accepted,  whereupon  the  ' '  Final  Decision 
of  Russian  Plenipotentiaries ' '  was  communicated  to  the  British 
Plenipotentiaries. 

From  that  decision  we  make  the  following  extracts :  * 

"  L'Empereur  charge  ses  Plenipotentiaires  de  declarer  iterative- 
ment  a  M.  I'Ambassadeur  d'Angleterre  : 

"  Que  la  possession  de  I'lle  du  Prince  de  Galles,  sans  une  portion 
de  territoire  sur  la  cote  situee  vis-a-vis  de  cette  ile,  ne  pourroit  etre 
d'aucune  utilite  k  la  Russie. 

"  Que  tout  Etablissement  form^  sur  la  dite  ile,  on  sur  celles  qui 
I'environnent,  se  trouverait  en  quelque  sorte  tourn6  par  les  ^tab- 
lissemens  Anglois  de  la  terre  ferme,  et  complettement  k  la  merci 
de  ces  demiers.   *  *  * 

"  Qu'enfin,  quant  a  la  navigation  des  fleuves,  la  Russie  croyait 
avoir  oflfert  k  la  Grande- Bretagne  tons  les  avantages  et  toutes  con- 
cessions que  celle-ci  pent  desirer."   *  *  * 

That  declaration  was  explicit,  and  after  much  discussion  between 
the  Plenipotentiaries  of  the  two  Powers,  led  to  the  adoption  of  the 
lisiere  of  the  Convention  of  1825. 

We  present  some  of  the  features  of  the  controversy,  and  the 
later  contentions  of  Canadian  authorities  against  the  integrity  of 
this  vital  border  of  the  continental  shore  of  the  Archipelago 
Alexander. 

On  the  1 2th  of  July,  1824,  Mr.  George  Canning  instructed  Sir 

*  Juir  Seal  Arbitration :    Vol.  IV,  page  430. 


140  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Charles  Bagot  there  were  then  only   ' '  two  points  which  are  left  to 
be  settled." 

The  principal  one  was  '  'fixing  the  course  of  the  eastern  boundary 
of  the  strip  of  land  to  be  occupied  by  Russia  on  the  coast ; ' '  and 
his  expressed  anxiety  was  lest  the  line  of  demarcation  should  be 
carried  too  far  inland,  if  the  mountains  were  inaccurately  laid 
down ;  he  was  afraid  they  might  be  farther  inland  than  Vancouver 
represented  them. 

That  this  lisiere  was  the  crux  of  the  question  is  evidenced  by 
the  facts  of  its  being  the  last  point  to  be  settled;  that  Sir  Charles 
Bagot  was  replaced  by  Mr.  Stratford  Canning;  and  that  the  con- 
vention was  not  signed  for  more  than  seven  months.  It  was 
intended  to  bar  out  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  from  free  access  from 
the  interior  to  the  ocean  waters  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander. 
The  Russians  would  not  yield,  and  when  they  came  to  so  narrow 
a  limit  as  the  ten  marine  leagues,  they  guarded  their  determination 
by  the  "sinuosities"  of  the  coast:  they  were  not  certain  how  far 
inland  the  inlets  might  reach. 

Although  the  language  of  the  French  text  is  plain,  we  have 
shown  that  the  English  translation  is  weak  and  inadmissible. 
The  negotiators  stated  the  condition  in  concise  terms,  based  upon 
the  presentations  of  Vancouver's  charts.  The  Russian,  British 
and  American  traders  evidently  understood  it  even  in  its  English 
dress.  The  United  States  and  Great  Britain  obtained  concession 
for  their  fur  traders  to  navigate  these  waters  for  fishing  and  trading 
with  the  natives.  The  Russian  American  Company,  as  the  author- 
ized representative  of  the  Russian  Government,  jealously  guarded 
against  any  infringement  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  as  really 
occurred  in  1834  and  1862. 

Sir  George  Simpson,  who  was  the  Govemor-in-Chief  of  the 
Territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  America,  visited 
the  Archipelago  in  1841,  and  in  1847,  ^^  unequivocally  acknowl- 
edged that  this  lisiere  ' '  renders  the  interior  comparatively  useless 
to  England."  From  remarks  made  subsequently  to  1825,  i^  ^^ 
evident  that  objection  had  been  made  in  England  to  the  terms  of 
the  Convention  so  effectually  excluding  Great  Britain  from  that 


THE   NEGOTIATORS  AND   THE   LISIERE.  141 

region;  and  on  page  271,  Sir  George  writes:  "In  oflfering  this 
defense  of  what  a  mistaken  patriotism  on  the  part  of  English 
writers  is  too  apt  to  stigmatize  as  agression  and  intrusion,  I  have 
no  other  object  than  to  do  what  I  believe  to  be  right."  (Previously- 
quoted,  ) 

In  1857,  Si^  George  confirmed  his  judgment  before  the  Select 
Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany territories. 

The  Russian  Governor  and  geographer  Tebenkof  understood  the 
border  as  cutting  off  traffic  communication  with  the  interior. 
Great  Britain  never  challenged  the  effect  of  the  lisiere  in  deterring 
her  from  any  right  thereto  through  forty-two  years  of  Russian 
occupation  and  dominion;  nor  after  the  purchase  of  Russia's  rights; 
nor  did  the  Dominion  of  Canada  when  it  sent  an  official  surveyor, 
Joseph  Hunter,  to  locate  a  thirty  miles  provisional  limit  on  the 
Stakheen  in  1877. 

The  later  development  of  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  northwest 
Territory  of  Canada  *  and  of  Alaska,  naturally  suggested  to  the 
Dominion  Government  the  advantage  of  a  shorter  route  thereto 
than  by  some  inland  trail  through  Canadian  territory;  and  the 
United  States  began  an  examination  for  a  route  shorter  than  the 
Yukon  River,  or  by  crossing  the  lisiere  via  the  Chilkoot  or  Chil- 
kaht  Passes  into  and  through  Canadian  territory.  Lieutenants 
Raymond  and  Schwatka  had,  respectively,  ascended  and  descended 
the  Yukon;  and  Lieutenants  Abercrombie  and  Allen  had  essayed 
the  Copper  River  for  an  all  American  route.  British  Columbia 
established  her  Custom  House  on  the  Stakheen,  which  had  never 
been  utilized  by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company. 

It  is  the  absolute  effectiveness  of  this  lisiere  and  its  relation  to 
the  sinuosities  or  inlets,  which  has  drawn  so  many  opinions  of  the 
best  methods  to  evade  its  impregnable  standing  in  the  Treaty.  One 
of  these  opinions  is  that  of  Hon.  David  Glass,  Q.  C,  etc.,  (page  553 
of  his  paper).  He  asserts  the  whole  of  the  British  contention  is, 
' '  that  the  lisQre  does  not  go  inland  around  the  tops  of  canals, 

*January  ist,  1903,  the  reported  gold  production  of  the  Klondike  district  since 
1897  is  over  $79,000,000. 


142  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

but   is   confined   to   the   mainland    opposite   the   islands."     (We 
overlook  the  non-geographical  term  "tops  of  canals.") 

Later  on,  (page  561,)  he  writes,  "I  find  no  authority  for  the 
statement  that  any  admitted  line,  either  by  Russia  or  England,  or 
of  any  maps  having  their  sanction  carrying  the  lisi^re  around  Lynn 
Canal,  or  any  other  canal;  on  the  contrary,  all  the  correspondence 
and  information  lead  to  the  opposite  conclusion."  In  the  next 
paragraph  he  discredits  Sir  George  Simpson  in  that  "anything 
he  may  have  said  in  his  trip  around  the  world,  or  that  of  any 
officer  of  the  Russian- American  Company  might  have  said,  would, 
indeed,  be  of  small  value."  He  then  quotes  from  Sir  George's 
testimony  before  the  Select  Committee  of  Parliament,  1857:  "It 
appears  that  the  Russian-American  Company  and  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  began  quarreling  over  the  strip  of  territory,  and  for  the 
sake  of  peace,  as  Sir  George  said,  the  latter  Company  made  a  lease 
of  part  of  the  lisi^re. ' ' 

Sir  George  was  asked  this  question  in  that  investigation: 

' '  Besides  your  own  territory  I  believe  you  administer  a  portion 
of  the  territory  which  belongs  to  Russia,  under  some  arrangement 
with  the  Russian- American  Company  ?  " 

Answer:  "There  is  a  margin  of  coast,  marked  yellow  in  the 
map,  from  fifty-four  degrees  and  forty  minutes  up  to  Cross  Sound, 
which  we  have  rented  from  the  Russian- American  Company  for  a 
term  of  years." 

Concerning  this  we  contend  that  all  the  claims  of  Great  Britain  to 
reach  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  through  Cross  Sound,  and  through 
Chatham  Strait  were  abandoned  by  the  British  Ambassador,  Sir 
Charles  Bagot;  and  that  even  the  claims  to  reach  the  Continent 
through  Clarence  Sound  were  abandoned  as  we  have  elsewhere 
shown. 

In  his  paper.  Judge  Glass  does  not  oSer  any  proof  that  all 
the  correspondence  and  information  of  the  Plenipotentiaries  lead 
to  the  lisi^re  not  going  around  Lynn  Canal  or  any  other  canal. 
The  Russian  Plenipotentiaries,  with  unyielding  pertinacity,  claimed 
the  lisiere  and  the  conditions   depending  upon  its   adoption.     In 


THE   NEGOTIATORS   AND   THE    USIERE.  143 

their  Counter-Draft  of  March,  1824,*  ^^^Y  reiterate  the  claim  to 
follow  the  mountains  parallel  to  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast  after 
leaving  Portland  Canal,  and  say:  "  Le  motif  principal  qui  force 
la  Russie  a  insister  sur  la  souverainete  de  la  lisiere  indiquee  plus 
haut  sur  la  terre  ferme  depuis  le  Portland  Canal  jusqu'au  point 
d' intersection  du  60°  avec  le  139°  de  longitude,  c'est  que,  privee 
de  ce  territoire,  la  Compagnie  Russo-Americaine  n'auroit  ancun 
noyen  de  soutenir  les  Etablissemens  qui  seroient  des  lors  sans  point 
d'appui,  et  qui  ne  pourroient  avoir  aucune  solidite." 

Later  on,  May  29,  1824,  Mr.  George  Canning  writes  to  Count 
Ivieven,t  the  Russian  Ambassador  at  London,  that  "Sir  Charles 
Bagot's  discretion  will  be  so  far  enlarged  as  to  enable  him  to  admit, 
with  certain  qualifications,  the  term  last  proposed  by  the  Russian 
Government. 

' '  The  qualifications  will  consist  chiefly  in  a  more  definite  descrip- 
tion of  the  limit  to  which  the  strip  of  land  required  by  Russia  on 
the  continent  is  to  be  restricted ;  in  the  selection  of  a  somewhat 
more  western  degree  of  longitude  as  the  boundary  to  the  northward 
of  Mount  Elias;  in  precise  and  positive  stipulations  for  the  free 
use  of  all  rivers  which  may  be  formed  to  empty  themselves  into 
the  sea  within  the  Russian  frontier,  and  of  all  seas,  straits,  and 
waters  which  the  limits  assigned  to  Russia  may  comprehend. ' ' 

Articles  III  and  IV  of  the  Convention  define  the  character  of 
the  lisiere;  Article  VI  gives  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain  the  right 
of  navigating  freely  all  streams  and  rivers  that  cross  this  lisiere; 
and  Article  VII  gives,  for  ten  years,  the  vessels  of  the  two  powers 
the  liberty  to  frequent  all  the  Seas,  Gulfs,  Havens  and  Creeks  of 
the  Archipelago  for  the  purposes  of  fishing  and  trading  with  the 
natives. 

The  difference  between  the  rivers  and  streams  that  cross  the 
lisiere,  and  the  seas,  gulfs,  etc.,  of  the  Archipelago,  is  marked. 
The  inference  seems  unquestionable  that  no  inlet,  strait,  bay  or 
sinuosity  was  to  cross  the  lisiere. 

In  the  next  place.  Judge   Glass   is   compelled  to   discredit    Sir 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.    Vol.  IV,  page  427. 
\  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.     Vol.  IV,  page  432. 


144  'J'HE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

George  Simpson's  statements  about  this  border  in  his  "Journey 
round  the  World,"  by  saying  they  are  of  "-small  value."  The 
narrative  of  that  journey  was  not  written  hurriedly.  Sir  George's 
line  of  exploration  was  remarkable;  his  daring,  his  treatment  of 
hostile  natives,  his  sufferings,  his  success  in  overcoming  every  form 
and  occasion  of  difficulty  reach  to  heroism,  without  a  suggestion 
of  self  praise.  Before  publishing  it,  he  studied  Vancouver's  narra- 
tive and  charts,  because  he  refers  to  the  latter,  and  uses  his  names 
of  places.  The  journey  was  made  in  1841-2;  it  was  not  published 
until  1847.  Moreover,  Sir  George  was  the  Governor-in-Chief  of  the 
Territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  in  America,  and  we 
know  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  been  the  adviser  of  the 
Government  of  Great  Britain  as  unreservedly  confessed  by  Mr. 
George  Canning.  In  his  letter  of  April  24th,  1824,  ^^  Ambassa- 
dor Sir  Charles  Bagot,  Mr.  Canning  says:  "  I  have  referred  the 
whole  question  of  this  negotiation  anew  to  the  governors  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company,  whose  report  I  expect  shortly  to 
receive. ' '  *     This  is  a  remarkable  admission. 

And  of  the  Governors  of  that  Company,  Alexander  Begg,  Q,  C. , 
says :  ' '  The  responsible  position  which  Governor  Simpson  so  long 
occupied  required  special  qualifications,  and  these  he  possessed  in  an 
eminent  degree.  He  was  a  man  of  consummate  tact  and  address, 
and  at  once  set  about  healing  up  old  wounds,  reconciling  discordant 
interests,  and  removing  old  prejudices  and  jealousies  from  amongst 
the  people  and  former  employes.  He  was  the  first  Hudson  Bay 
governor  who  fulfilled,  on  behalf  of  the  Company,  that  duty 
imposed,  as  a  condition,  by  the  charter — the  task  of  exploration 
and  geographical  discovery. ' '  f 

We  submit  that  the  small  estimate  which  Judge  Glass  has 
expressed  of  such  an  authority  must  be  swept  aside. 

Again,  Judge  Glass  misreads  the  question  and  the  answer  before 
the  Select  Committee  of  Parliament,  which  we  have  quoted  from 
his  paper.  The  question  of  the  Chairman  was :  "I  think  you 
made  an  arrangement  with  the  Company  by  which  you  hold  under 

*Fur  Seal  Arbitration :    Vol.  IV,  page  431. 
■\ History  of  British  Columbia,  1894.     Page  113. 


THE   NEGOTIATORS   AND   THE    LISIERE.  1 45 

a  lease  a  portion  of  their  territory  ?' '  To  which  Sir  George 
answered  "Yes."  In  later  explanations  the  lisiere  was  described 
as  drawn  and  colored  on  the  map  before  the  Committee,  and  Sir 
George  declared  that  the  strip  of  land  was  a  barrier  to  passage  in- 
land by  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  which  restraint  they  wished 
removed;  and  failing  that,  they  rented  the  "margin  of  30  miles 
of  the  coast  belonging  to  the  Russians"  for  a  term  of  5'^ears. 
That  was  the  border,  the  margin,  the  lisiere,  which  in  1847  he 
declared  had  rendered  the  ' '  interior  comparatively  useless  to 
England. ' '  The  map  which  he  presented  to  the  Select  Committee 
is  known  to  us  as  that  of  1857,  and  we  believe  that  it  was  based 
upon  the  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461  of  1856-65.  That  Parlia- 
mentary map,  by  its  special  coloring,  gives  to  Russia  every  island 
of  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  and  a  ten  marine  leagues  lisiere 
from  Portland  Inlet  of  the  Admiralty  chart  No.  2458  of  1900, 
around  the  Taku  Inlet  and  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  to  Mount 
Saint  Elias.  The  reproduction  of  a  small  part  of  it  is  shown  in 
the  National  Geographic  Magazine  of  November,  1899,  to  illus- 
trate the  paper  by  Hon.  John  W.  Foster,  and  to  illustrate  Mr. 
T.  W.  Balch's  papers  of  1902  and  1903  on  the  Alaska  Frontier. 
The  Admiralty  chart  clearly  lays  down  the  thirty  miles  boundary 
and  fortifies  it  with  an  explanatory  legend. 

Another  attack  upon  the  lisiere  is  that  of  Dr.  Dawson  and  Mr. 
R.  B.  Gosnell,  that  the  outer  coast  bordering  directly  upon  the 
Pacific  is  the  coast  of  the  Treaty;  hence  the  lisiere  must  extend 
through  the  Archipelago,  parallel  with  that  outer  coast.  This 
need  not  be  criticised. 

In  his  letter  of  February  7th,  1888,*  Dr.  Dawson  addressed  Sir 
Charles  Tupper  on  the  subject  of  inlets,  the  lisiere,  etc. ,  and  wrote, 
"  As  far  as  non-mountainous  country  may  extend  but  within  10 
marine  leagues  of  the  ocean,  the  inlets  are  in  fact  included  by  the 
convention  within  la  lisiere  de  cote  mentioinee  ci-dessus  comme 
devant  appartenir  d.  la  Riissie. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  so  much  of  these  inlets  as  happen  to  be  in 
mountainous  territory,  or  beyond  the  10  marine  leagues  from  the 

*  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146,  50th  Congress,  2d  Session,  Mar.  2,  1889.     Page  6. 


146  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

ocean,  together  with  the  dry  land  about  them,  is  assigned  to  Great 
Britain  as  much  as  are  rivers  and  lakes  in  the  same  regions." 

There  is  nothing  whatever  in  the  convention  to  warrant  the 
assumption  made  in  the  second  paragraph.  The  lisiere  embraces 
all  the  inlets  or  sinuosities  without  regard  to  where  the  crete  or 
crest-line  may  be.  The  expression  sinuosities  preserved  the  border 
of  the  coast  to  Russia,  and  intentionally  hindered  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  pushing  its  posts  and  establishments  to  the  ocean 
waters  across  this  coast-strip.  The  continental  shore  followed  the 
bays  and  inlets,  or  it  did  not.  It  has  been  admitted  by  the  nego- 
tiators that  the  head  of  Portland  Inlet  "abuts  "  against  the  coast, 
therefore  the  shores  of  that  inlet  are  part  of  the  continental  shore. 

On  the  17th  of  March,  1824,  Sir  Charles  Bagot  wrote  to  Mr. 
George  Canning  that  he  inclosed  the  Counter-Draft  of  the  Russian 
Plenipotentiaries,  in  which  we  discover  they  proposed  to  run  the 
boundary  from  the  two  points  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island  to  the 
head  of  Portland  Canal,  and  "de  ce  point,  la  limite  remonteroit  le 
long  de  ces  montagnes  parallelement  aux  sinuosites  de  la  cote, 
jusqu'a  la  longitude  du  i39e  degre,  etc."*  The  Ambassador  had 
previously  proposed  that  by  giving  to  Russia  the  55th  degree  of 
latitude  as  her  boundary  upon  the  islands,  we  "might  preserve 
also  uninterrupted  our  access  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  secure  to 
His  Majesty  the  56tli  degree  of  north  latitude  as  the  British 
boundary  upon  the  coast."     (Page  425.) 

In  July,  1524,  Mr.  George  Canning  proposed  that  the  utmost 
extent  of  the  strip  should  be  conceded  to  ten  leagues  and  if  possible 
"a  still  more  narrow  limitation."     (Page  433.) 

Again,  Sir  Charles  Bagot  in  his  letter  of  August  T2th,  1824,  to 
Mr.  George  Canning  wrote:  "The  Russian  Plenipotentiaries 
declare  that  they  are  ready  to  grant  to  His  Majesty's  subjects  for  ten 
years,  but  for  no  longer  period,  the  liberty  to  navigate  and  trade 
along  the  coast  of  the  lisiere  proposed  to  be  ceded  to  Russia,  from 
the  Portland  Channel  to  the  60th  degree  of  North  latitude  and  the 
islands  adjacent,  "f 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.     Volume  IV,  page  427;  then  425. 
t  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.     Volume  IV,  page  440. 


RUSSIA    RETAINS    THE   LISIERE.  1 47 

Mr,  George  Canning  had  demanded  the  ' '  free  use  of  all  rivers 
which  may  be  found  to  empty  themselves  into  the  sea  within  the 
Russian  frontier;  and  then  among  the  islands  and  straits."  The 
Russians  acceded  to  this,  "and  they  are  ready  to  grant /or  ever  the 
right  of  ingress  and  egress  into  and  from  whatever  rivers  may  flow 
from  the  American  continent  and  fall  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  within 
the  above  described  lisiere,"  etc.     (Pages  432  and  440.) 

The  latest  letter  of  Mr.  George  Canning  that  we  find  is  addressed 
to  Mr.  Stratford  Canning,  who  replaced  Sir  Charles  Bagot  as 
Ambassador,  and  dated  December  8,  1824,  o^  two  and  one-half 
months  before  the  Convention  was  signed.     He  says: 

"The  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  propose  to  withdraw  entirely 
the  limit  of  the  lisiere  on  the  coast  which  they  were  themselves 
the  first  to  propose,  viz.,  the  summit  of  the  mountains  which  run 
parallel  to  the  coast,  and  which  appear,  according  to  the  Map,  to 
follow  all  its  sinuosities,  and  to  substitute  generally  that  which  we 
only  suggested  as  a  corrective  of  their  first  proposition. 

' '  We  cannot  agree  to  this  change. ' '  Then  Mr.  Canning  insists 
that  the  mountains  were  "  the  most  natural  and  effective  boun- 
dary;" but  if  the  mountains  were  erroneously  laid  down,  Great 
Britain  ' '  might  be  assigning  immense  tracts  of  inland  territory, 
where  we  only  intended  to  give,  and  they  only  intended  to  ask,  a 
strip  of  sea  coast. ' '  * 

Sir  Charles  Bagot  had  entered  upon  the  negotiations  with  the 
hope  of  obtaining  the  whole  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander.  He 
failed,  and  his  successor,  Mr.  Stratford  Canning,  concluded  the 
negotiations  by  Great  Britain  not  obtaining  a  permanent  foothold 
along  the  continental  shore  from  Portland  Inlet  to  Mt.  St.  Elias. 

Since  1885,  all  attacks  to  break  through  this  lisiere  of  the  Con- 
vention of  1825  have  been  mainly,  in  fact  solely,  to  obtain  a  port 
of  ingress  into  British  Columbia  from  the  Archipelago.  The 
attacks  have  come  from  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  and  not  from 
the  Government  of  Great  Britain. 

The  claims  of  Canada  cut  off  all  the  sinuosities,  and  the  great 
channel  of  Lynn  Canal.     The  most  astonishing  of  them  all  is  that 

'''Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :    Volume  IV,  page  447. 


148  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

of  Sir  Charles  Hibbert  Tapper,  R.C.M.G.,  Q.C.,  M.P.:*  "It  is 
along  this  boundary  [141st  meridian,]  that  the  discoveries  of  exten- 
sive and  valuable  placer  gold  mines  have  been  found;  and  it  is  to 
this  field  the  United  States  are  permitted  to  hold  the  present  ports 
of  ingress  and  egress,  Dyea  and  Skagway,  both  in  British  territory." 

It  is  not  possible  to  strain  and  contort  the  Convention  of  1825 
or  the  Treaty  of  1867  to  cover  such  exaggerated  demands.  Sir 
Charles  asserts  that  Great  Britain  makes  these  claims;  so  far  as  we 
have  learned,  they  are  made  solely  and  wholly  by  Canada. 

Russia  guarded  the  border  land  with  vigilance,  and  Great  Britain 
respected  her  treaty  rights.  The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  was 
the  aggressor;  Great  Britain,  through  the  Devastation  incident 
asked  permission  that  was  granted. 

The  Government  of  Russia,  through  the  authorized  Russian 
American  Company,  repelled  the  attempt  to  establish  a  post  in  the 
Archipelago  in  1834;  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  established 
a  trading  post  in  Observatory  Inlet,  and  in  1834  established  Fort 
Simpson  at  the  east  entrance  to  Portland  Inlet.  In  1841,  Sir 
George  Simpson  visited  the  Russian  Governor  at  Sitka,  and  in 
1847  and  1857  he  admitted  the  coast-strip  was  useless  to  the 
English.  Articles  III  and  IV  of  the  Convention  and  their  coun- 
terparts in  the  Treaty  of  1867,  could  not  have  described  the  mutual 
understanding  of  the  two  Powers  of  the  Convention  more  clearly 
and  explicitly. 

Sir  Charles  Bagot  hoped  to  grasp  the  Archipelago  Alexander; 
Russia  resisted  and  retained  it;  she  never  yielded  the  lisiere  around 
the  Archipelago  and  thence  to  Mt.  St.  Elias,  although  she  yielded 
in  the  breadth  of  the  border  and  in  the  western  meridian.  Both 
Powers  were  keenly  aware  that  the  lisiere  was  intended  to  control 
the  sinuosities  of  the  continental  shore,  and  ten  marine  leagues 
beyond  their  heads  if  the  country  was  low  as  indicated  on  the 
charts  of  Vancouver.  Russia  gave  the  subjects  of  Great  Britain 
the  right  to  navigate  the  streams  and  rivers  that  crossed  the  lisiere, 
(which  they  never  exercised)  but  as  the  lisiere  extended  beyond  the 
sinuosities,  the  right  to  cross  it  through  these  inlets  was  not  granted. 

*  The  Alaska  Question,    "British  Columbia  Mining  Record,"  Christmas  1899, 
page  3. 


RUSSIAN,    FRENCH   AND   ENGLISH  CHARTS  AND 

MAPS,  1802  TO  1899. 


In  searching  through  charts  that  are  here  available,  or  the  repro- 
ductions that  have  appeared  in  publications  of  writers  of  ability, 
we  are  naturally  led  to  inquire  what  chart  or  map  has  been  pub- 
lished wherein  the  boundary  line  in  dispute  has  been  laid  down  by 
special  authority  of  any  government,  in  strict  conformity  to  the 
specifications  of  the  Treaties  of  1825  ^^^  1867,  so  far  as  the  geo- 
graphy of  the  Alaska  coast  was  then  known. 

We  have  had  such  a  chart  in  our  possession  from  1867.  It  is 
"Sheet  No.  3"  of  the  British  Admiralty  Chart  "No.  2461," 
"published  at  the  Admiralty,  Oct.  ist,  1856,  under  the  superin- 
dence  of  Captain  Washington,  R.N.,  F.R.S.,  Hydrographer, "  with 
"corrections  in  1861,  '62,  '64  and  March  '65."  At  the  bottom  it 
is  entitled  "Cook  River  to  Gulf  of  California."  There  is  also  a 
map  presented  in  evidence  to  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons  in  1857  by  Sir  George  Simpson,  the  Govemor-in- 
Chief  of  the  Territories  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  in  the 
investigations  instituted  by  that  committee. 

These  are  esteemed  as  having  Governmental  authority.  We 
describe  the  chart  and  map  elsewhere,  and  also  refer  to  Sir  George's 
description  of  the  lisi^re  as  laid  down  on  the  map. 

Captain  Tebenkof  is  authority  for  saying  that  up  to  the  year 
1826,  the  best  information  the  government  had  from  its  officers 
was  that  published  in  the  atlases  of  Sarichef  and  of  Krusenstern; 
and  that  during  his  first  service  in  the  Russian  American  Company, 
from  1825  to  1833,  ^^  learned  the  lack  of  materials  for  improving 
the  charts,  and  began  to  obtain  information  from  special  surveys 
and  reconnaissances  in  the  Company's  archives;  and  to  search  the 
log  books.  He  published  a  memorandum  thereof  in  1833.  Upon 
his  appointment  as  Governor  of  the  Colonies  in  1845,  he  deter- 
mined to  assemble  all  available  data,  and  published  his  large  atlas 
of  thirty-nine  charts  in  1852.  The  base  work  of  the  charts  of  the 
Northwest  Coast  of  America  from  the  Arctic  to  Cape  San  Lucas 


150  THE   AI.ASKA   BOUNDARY. 

was  the  charts  and  narratives  of  Captain  James  Cook,  1778,  and 
Captain  George  Vancouver,  1792-4.  (See  the  preface  to  his 
"  Hydrographic  Notes,"  1852.) 

It  is  therefore  apparent  that  any  information  of  the  physical 
characteristics  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander  must  be  referred  to 
the  earlier  charts  and  narratives. 

We  propose  to  give  a  brief  sketch  of  some  of  the  charts  and 
maps  which  have  reference  to  the  boundary  line  of  the  Convention 
of  1825,  ^^^  they  will  be  presented  in  three  series:  (i)  Russian, 
French,  English,  Scotch,  Early  Canadian;  (2)  Canadian;  (3) 
American. 

Russian,  Frknch  and  English  Charts. 

1802:     We  elsewhere  describe  this  map. 

1827:  The  Imperial  Russian  chart  prepared  by  Rear  Admiral 
Krusenstem,  St.  Petersburg.  This  chart  shows  the  boundary  from 
the  head  of  Portland  Canal  to  Mt.  St.  Elias,  ten  marine  leagues 
from  the  coast  line.  See  Mr.  T.  W.  Balch's  reduction,  1902,  page 
19. 

1829:  The  Russian  chart  of  the  Northwest  coast  prepared  at 
St.  Petersburg  by  Piadischeflf  at  the  Depot  Typographique  Mili- 
taire.  A  bold  boundary  line  runs  from  the  southwest  point  of 
Prince  of  Wales  Archipelago,  up  Portland  Inlet,  and  from  the 
head  thereof  to  Mt.  St.  Elias,  at  about  ten  marine  leagues  from 
the  coast.     See  Mr.  T.  W.  Balch's  reduction,  1902,  page  21. 

1 831:  Canadian  map,  prepared  by  the  Deputy  Surveyor  Gen- 
eral of  Lower  Canada.  The  boundary  line  is  probably  taken  from 
the  Krusenstem  chart.  See  Mr,  T.  W.  Balch's  reduction,  1902, 
page  23. 

1832:  The  Arrowsmith  map  compiled  from  documents  of  the 
Hudson's  Bay  Company.  It  carries  a  double  dotted  line  from  the 
head  of  Portland  Canal  to  Mt.  St.  Elias,  and  it  bears  a  strong 
resemblance  in  width  to  that  of  the  Russian  chart  of  1829.  It 
has  a  third  dotted  line  commencing  at  the  head  of  Taku  Inlet  and 
following  closely  around  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal,  with  no  expla- 
nation. See  Mr.  Foster's  map  in  National  Geographic  Magazine^ 
November,  1899. 


EXAMINATION    OF   RUSSIAN   AND   BRITISH   CHARTS.  151 

1 844-1 893:  Russian  "Chart  of  the  Frozen  Sea  and  the  Eastern 
Ocean,  compiled  from  the  latest  authorities,  at  the  Hydrographic 
Department  of  the  Ministry  of  the  Marine,  1844.  [Note.]  Com- 
piled from  the  most  recent  Russian  and  latest  Foreign  charts,  and 
the  engraving  renewed  in  1893."  Seal  of  the  Hydrographic 
Department.  Corrections  to  Aids  to  Navigation  to  1898.  Merca- 
tor  projection. 

This  chart  is  one  of  a  series  published  about  the  same  date,  and 
is  numbered  "  1345,  General  Chart. "  The  sheet  is  35  inches  by  24. 
It  exhibits  the  Russian  Possessions  on  the  Asiatic  side  as  far  west 
as  240°  from  Greenwich,  and  south  to  35°  of  latitude.  It  there- 
fore includes  Japan,  the  Kuril  Islands,  the  Aleutian  Islands,  and 
the  main  coast  of  North  America  from  Point  Barrow  in  7i}4°  to 
the  south  of  Point  Pinos.  It  thus  includes  the  old  Russian  posts 
at  Bodega  Bay  and  Fort  Ross. 

It  is  notable  in  several  aspects.  West  of  Bering  Strait  is  the 
name  '  'Asia ' '  upon  the  continent,  and  east  of  the  strait  is  the  name 
'  'America, ' '  with  no  mention  of  Alaska  or  Canada.  Certain  additions 
have  been  made  upon  the  chart  since  the  Treaty  of  1867;  for 
example,  to  the  westward  of  the  141st  meridian  is  the  legend, 
"Former  Russian  Territory;"  through  Bering  Strait  and  Bering 
Sea  a  dotted,  broken  line  is  laid  down  as  the  "  Boundary  between 
Russia  and  the  North  American  States  extended  by  the  Treaty  of 
1867;"  and  on  the  141st  meridian  is  the  third  legend,  "Former 
boundary  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain  accepted  conformably 
to  the  Treaty  of  1825." 

The  use  of  the  qualifying  word  ' '  former  ' '  in  two  of  the  above 
cases  is  to  be  noted  as  being  the  understanding  of  the  Russian 
Government  as  to  her  rights  held  intact  between  1825  and  1867. 

The  Archipelago  Alexander  is  evidently  based  upon  the  chart  of 
Vancouver;  with  the  additions  from  other  sources  which  exhibit 
the  Chilkaht,  Chilkoot  and  Taku  Rivers,  and  the  Stakheen;  and 
on  other  parts  of  the  coast  are  inserted  the  Kuskokwim'  and  Yukon 
Rivers ;  and  the  shore  line  along  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  longitude  1 1 5°. 

The  boundary  line  around  the  lisiere  is  laid  down  from  the  head 
of  Portland  Canal  at  a  distance  of  ten  marine  leagues  from    the 


152  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

continental  shore;  at  the  Taku  Inlet  it  is  twenty-five  miles  from 
the  head,  and  twenty  miles  beyond  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal.  On 
the  ocean  front  beyond  Cape  Spencer,  the  line  is  nearly  forty  miles 
inland;  and  passes  beyond  the  head  of  Bering  Bay  (Yakutat)  at 
twenty-eight  miles.  It  does  not  reach  Mt.  St.  Elias,  but  when 
within  ten  miles  it  swings  nearly  ten  miles  north  of  it,  and  then 
runs  along  the  141st  meridian  to  the  shore  of  the  Arctic. 

1 844 :  The  French  map  of  1 844.  ' '  Carte  de  la  Cote  de  P  Am^ri- 
que  sur  I'Ocdan  Pacifique  Septentrional  comprenant  le  Territoire 
de  1' Oregon,  les  Californies,  la  Mer  Vermeille,  Partie  des  Tem- 
toires  de  la  Compagnie  de  la  Bale  d' Hudson,  et  de  I'Amdrique 
Russe.  Dress^e  par  Mr.  Duflot  de  Mofras,  Attache  a  la  Legation  de 
France  a  Mexico;  pour  servir  a  1' intelligence  de  son  Voyage  d' ex- 
ploration.    Public  par  Ordre  du  Roi     *     *     *     Paris,  1844." 

This  map  extends  from  latitude  17°  to  latitude  60°,  and  from 
longitude  102°  to  longitude  143°  west  of  Paris.  The  scale  is 
twenty-five  leagues  to  one  inch.  Special  attention  has  been  given 
to  the  Russian  territory  and  the  adjacent  British  territory  by 
coloring  and  explicit  legends. 

In  the  northwest  region  two  boundaries  are  laid  down.  The 
first  starts  from  ' '  C.  Chacon  ou  Galles, ' '  runs  through  the  northern 
limit  of  the  "  Entree  de  Perez  en  1774,"  (Dixon  Entrance)  and 
continues  along  the  parallel  of  the  cape  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
This  boundary  line  is  designated  ' '  Traits  entre  la  Russie  et  les 
E^tats-Unis  du  17  Avril   1824." 

The  second  boundary  line  begins  at  the  head  of  the  ' '  Canal  de 
Portland ' '  and  follows  the  general  trend  of  the  coast  and  around 
the  heads  of  the  inlets  or  ' '  sinuosites, "  at  an  average  distance  of 
seven  and  a  half  leagues.  After  heading  Lynn  Canal  it  swings 
southwestwardly  to  Mt.  Fairweather,  and  thence  around  the  head  of 
Yakutat  Bay  at  the  distance  of  seven  and  a  half  leagues,  from 
which  it  reaches  Mt.  St.  Elias.  The  legend  along  this  boundary 
line  is  ' '  Traits  entre  la  Russie  et  1' Angleterre  du  28  Fevrier  1825. ' ' 
That  part  of  ' '  Am^rique  Russe ' '  is  colored  green ;  and  the  adja- 
cent territory  of  ' '  Am^rique  Anglaise, ' '  red. 

It  should  be  noticed  that  M.  de  Mofras  names    "  C.    Chacon  ou 


EXAMINATION    OF   RUSSIAN   AND    BRITISH    CHARTS.  1 53 

Galles,"  evidently  without  paying  special  attention  to  Vancouver's 
chart  and  narrative  concerning  Point  Wales. 

A  third  boundary  line  is  laid  down  from  seaward,  and  extends 
eastnortheastwardly  to  Cape  Spencer,  thence  northwardly  to  meet 
the  lisiere  line  at  Mont  du  Beautemps  (Fairweather).  In  the  area 
east  and  northeast  of  this  line,  and  west  of  Lynn  Canal,  is  the 
legend,  "Convention  Comm''"''®  de  1838  entre  I'Angleterre  et  la 
Russie. ' ' 

1847:  In  Sir  George  Simpson's  "Narrative  of  a  Journey  round 
the  World  in  1841-2,"  published  in  1847,  there  is  a  map  of  his 
itinerary  across  the  continent  through  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company 
territory  to  the  Pacific,  He  lays  down  the  boundary  line  similarly 
to  that  on  Krusenstern's  chart.  We  have  elsewhere  quoted  his 
remarks  about  the  thirty  miles  strip,  and  have  there  given  the 
title  of  his  book. 

1 848-9 :  We  have  quoted  Tebenkof  as  the  author  of  an  Atlas  of 
the  coasts  of  the  North  Pacific,  Bering  Sea  and  the  Arctic.  On 
his  general  chart  he  lays  down  the  boundary  line  from  the  head  of 
Portland  Canal  to  Mt.  St.  Elias;  but  the  scale  of  the  chart  is 
small,  and  the  line  follows  as  near  as  may  be  the  thirty  miles  limit. 
On  his  detailed  charts  he  rarely  reaches  inland  thirty  miles,  and 
no  boundary  line  is  introduced  wherever  he  reaches  that  far.  In 
another  place  we  note  what  he  says  of  this  border.  The  title 
page  of  his  atlas  gives  the  year  1852,  but  the  individual  charts 
have  the  dates  1848  and  1849. 

1850:  In  1850,  Dr.  C.  Grewingk  published  at  St.  Petersburg 
his  orography  and  geology  of  the  northwest  coast  of  America 
and  the  adjacent  islands.  His  map,  on  a  small  scale,  has  the 
boundary  line  laid  down  simply  to  indicate  its  general  relation  to 
the  coast  from  the  head  of  Portland  to  Mt.  St.  Elias. 

1853:  There  is  an  Admiralty  chart  of  that  date  which  exhibits 
the  thirty  miles  border  commencing  at  the  entrance  to  Portland. 
We  have  no  copy  at  hand,  but  it  is  referred  to  by  Dr.  George  M. 
Dawson,  of  the  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  in  his  letter  of 
February  7th,  1888,  page  7  of  U.  S.  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146, 
50th  Congress,  2d  Session,  wherein  he  says:     "The  line  has  been 


154  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

erroneously  shown  on  many  maps  as  running  south  of  these 
islands  ['Wales  and  Pierce,']  along  part  of  the  Observatory  Inlet  of 
Vancouver.  *  *  *  This  first  occurred  in  the  Admiralty  chart 
published  in  1853."  Dr.  Dawson  evidently  refers  to  the  Observa- 
tory Inlet  of  Vancouver's  Narrative,  Vol.  II,  page  375,  and  not  to 
the  chart.     We  have  elsewhere  explained  the  discrepancy. 

1856:  The  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461,  (Sheet  3,)  was  published 
at  the  Admiralty  office  Oct.  i,  1856,  and  was  continued  with  addi- 
tions and  corrections  to  1865.  It  was  constructed  under  the  direc- 
tion of  Captain  Washington,  R.N.,  F.R. S.,  Hydrographer  to  the 
Admiralty.  The  boundary  line  is  designated  thereon  as  "Boun- 
dary between  the  British  and  Russian  Territory,"  and  commences  at 
the  head  of  Portland  Canal ;  keeps  thirty  miles  inside  of  the  northern 
part  of  Behm  Canal,  forty-five  miles  inside  the  mouth  of  the  Stak- 
heen,  thirty  miles  from  the  head  of  the  Taku  Inlet,  over  thirty  miles 
beyond  the  head  of  Chilkaht  Inlet,  then  runs  southward  and  west- 
ward to  near  Mt.  Fairweather,  twenty  miles  from  the  coast,  passes 
thirty  miles  inside  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay,  is  discontinued  in 
approaching  Mt.  St.  Klias,  and  is  renewed  west  and  north  of  that 
mountain,  and  then  runs  northward  along  the  meridian  of  141° 
west.  This  chart  exhibits  the  49th  parallel  boundary,  and  the 
Mexican  boundary. 

We  esteem  this  the  most  important  of  the  later  charts,  not 
excepting  that  of  1857.  ^^^^  drawn  to  include  all  the  "  sinuosites" 
of  the  continental  shore,  as  then  shown  on  any  chart. 

1856:  The  ' '  General  Atlas  of  the  World' '  by  Adam  and  Charles 
Black,  Edinburgh,  1856,  contains  seventy-four  maps.  Map  XLV, 
North  America,  although  on  a  small  scale,  lays  down  the  boundary 
line  between  British  North  America  and  the  Russian  Territory. 
This  line  is  marked  and  the  area  of  each  territory  differently 
colored.  It  starts  from  the  head  of  Portland  Canal  (not  named), 
goes  around  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  at  a  distance  of  thirty  miles, 
and  thence  to  Mt.  St.  Blias  and  northward.  This  map  discharges 
the  ' '  R.  Youcon  ' '  into  the  Arctic. 

1857:  Map  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  "ordered  by  the 
House    of    Commons  to    be    printed    31    July   and    11    August, 


MAP   OF   THE   HUDSON'S   BAY   COMPANY.  1 55 

1857."  This  map  was  produced  to  be  used  in  the  examination 
which  was  conducted  by  the  "  Special  Committee  "  to  learn  the 
status  of  the  territories  of  that  Company,  and  its  relations  with 
other  Companies. 

The  boundary  line  is  indicated  by  a  broken  line  which  starts 
from  the  head  of  Portland  Canal,  follows  the  "sinuositds"  of  Taku 
Inlet  and  the  heads  of  Lynn  Canal,  bends  south  and  west  to  Mt. 
Fairweather  at  thirty  miles  from  the  coast,  approaches  the  head  of 
Yakutat  Bay  within  about  twenty-five  miles,  is  discontinued  as  it 
approaches  Mt.  St.  Elias,  and  is  renewed  west  and  north  of  that 
mountain,  and  then  runs  north.  It  follows  the  "sinuosites" 
closer  than  the  French  map  of  1844,  but  not  so  close  as  those  of 
the  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461  of  1856.  The  strip  of  thirty  miles 
width  and  the  whole  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander  are  colored 
yellow.  This  map  was  acknowledged  as  authority  by  Sir  George 
Simpson  in  his  testimony  before  the  Select  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons,  1857.  We  believe  this  map  was  based  upon  the 
conditions  of  the  latter  chart  (No.  2461).  It  is  shown  in  Mr.  T. 
W.  Balch's  papers  of  1902  and  1903,  and  in  Hon.  John  W. 
Foster's  paper,  1899. 

1857:  There  is  a  Canadian  map  of  1857  referred  to  under  the 
list  of  maps  of  that  Dominion. 

1859-76:  British  Admiralty  chart  No.  2683,  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean;  the  scale  is  quite  small,  and  the  chart  is  referred  to  because 
of  the  dates.  The  lisiere  is  clearly  laid  down  around  the  Archi- 
pelago. It  is  in  the  official  catalogue  of  the  charts,  plans  and 
sailing  directions  of  the  Lords  Commissioners  of  the  Admiralty, 
December  31st,  1899.  A  copy  is  in  the  possession  of  Mr.  Louis 
Weule,  San  Francisco. 

1 861:  "Chart  of  Russian  Possessions  on  the  Coasts  of  the 
Eastern  Sea,  1861."  (Translation.)  We  have  a  photograph  copy 
of  the  eastern  half  of  the  sheet  extending  from  longitude  165°  east 
to  125°  west.  It  is  on  Mercator's  projection,  and  the  extent  of 
latitude  from  55°  to  60°  equals  two  and  five-eighths  inches.  On  this 
chart  Cape  Muzon  is  named  Kaigani,  and  the  Dixon  Entrance  is 


156  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Kaigani  Strait*  The  boundary  line  leaves  the  head  of  Portland 
Canal  and  continues  towards  the  northwest,  passing  thirty  miles 
inside  the  head  of  Burrough  Canal,  Bradfield  Canal  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Stakheen.  It  passes  around  the  heads  of  Taku  and  Taiya 
Inlets  at  a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles,  and  thence  around 
Yakutat  Bay  to  Mt.  St.  Elias,  where  it  runs  north  on  the  meridian 
of  141  degrees.  On  this  straight  line  is  the  legend,  "  Boundary 
between  Russia  and  Great  Britain  in  accordance  with  the  Treaty 
of  1825."     (Translation.) 

1877:  British  Admiralty  chart  No.  787,  published  June  21st, 
1877,  under  the  superintendence  of  Capt.  F.  J.  Evans,  R.N., 
Hydrographer,  etc.,  with  corrections  to  August,  1901.  See  Mr. 
T.  W.  Balch's  paper  of  1903,  page  104.  The  boundary  line  begins 
at  the  head  of  Portland  Canal,  crosses  the  Skoot  River  (southern 
tributary  of  the  Stakheen)  at  forty  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Stakheen,  and  crosses  the  latter  stream  at  thirty 
miles  in  a  straight  line  from  the  north  entrance.  It  then  passes 
the  head  of  Taku  Inlet  at  thirty  miles,  swings  sharply  southsouth- 
west  to  Mt.  Crillon,  thirty  miles  inside  the  Malaspina  ice  barrier  at 
the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay,  and  thence  towards  Mt.  St.  Elias,  but  does 
not  touch  it.  The  general  curving  of  the  boundary  line  is  that  of 
the  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461  of  1856. 

1 865-1 888:  The  British  Admiralty  chart  No.  2431,  with  cor- 
rections to  1888  has  an  addition  thereto  at  the  southeast  part  of  the 
chart  entitled  "  Portland  and  Observatory  Inlets  from  Staff  Commr. 
Pender's  Survey,  1868."  It  will  be  noticed  on  this  chart  that  the 
British  Survey  is  not  extended  north  and  west  of  the  entrance  to 
Portland  Inlet;  and  that  the  survey  through  the  large  inlets  is 
tentative  only,  as  no  deep  soundings  have  been  taken ;  all  soundings 
marked  40  fms.  "no  bottom." 

1894:  A  "Physical  Sketch  Map  of  Alaska,"  by  t\i&  Scotiisk 
Geographical  Magazine^  Edinburgh,  August,  1894.  The  boun- 
dary line  starts  from  Cape  Muzou,  follows  Portland  Channel  to  the 

*  Coast  Pilot  of  Alaska,    U.   S.    Coast  Survey,   Washington,    1869,   by   George 
Davidson  :     "  Cape  Ky-gah'-ne  "  (to  sketch  page  90,)  as  obtained  from  the  natives. 


SCOTTISH   MAPS.  1 57 

head,  and  then  continues  at  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  from  the 
heads  of  all  the  inlets  including  Taiya  and  Chilkaht.  Authority, 
J.  G.  Bartholmew,  the  well-known  geographer  of  the  Edinburgh 
Geographical  Institute. 

Mr.  William  Ogilvie,  Ex-Governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory 
of  Canada,  has  furnished  a  map  to  the  above  Society,  showing 
the  boundary  line.  See  memorandum  under  the  Canadian  maps, 
1898. 

1899:  "The  World-Wide  Atlas  of  Modern  Geography,  political 
and  physical,  containing  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  plates  and 
complete  index,  with  an  introduction  by  J.  Scott  Keltic,  LL.  D. , 
etc.  Fourth  Edition.  W.  and  A.  K.  Johnston,  Edinburgh  and 
London,  1899." 

Map  No.  104  shows  part  of  the  northwest  coast  of  America 
from  the  Strait  de  Fuca  to  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal.  By  color  and  a 
dotted  line  the  boundary  runs  through  Clarence  Strait  and  Behm 
Canal  to  latitude  56° ;  thence  in  a  slightly  curved  line  around  and 
close  to  the  heads  of  all  the  inlets  to  Taku  Inlet,  which  it  cuts  in 
two  and  crosses  Lynn  Canal  south  of  Pt.  Bridget. 

Fortunately  the  old  boundary  line  of  a  former  edition  has  not 
been  efifectively  erased,  and  can  be  traced  from  the  head  of  Portland 
Canal  around  the  Archipelago  at  a  distance  of  thirty  miles  inland, 
and  around  Taku  and  Taiya  Inlets  at  the  same  distance.  There 
is  no  mention  in  the  text  to  indicate  the  cause  of  the  change,  except 
a  remark  that  the  Dominion  of  Canada  had  been  extending  its 
surveys.  This  map  should  fittingly  be  placed  among  the  Canadian 
Maps. 

1896-1900.  British  Admiralty  chart  No.  2458,  with  corrections 
to  Mar.  1900.  The  title  is  "  North  America — West  Coast,  Alaska. 
Port  Simpson  to  Port  McArthur,  including  the  inner  channels  and 
Prince  of  Wales  Island,  from  the  latest  United  States  and  British 
Surveys."     The  northern  limit  of  the  sheet  is  56°  12'. 

This  chart  appears  to  be  based  largely  upon  the  Chart  No.  8100 
of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  with  the  title,  ' '  Clarence 
Strait,  Revillagigedo  Channel  and  Portland  Canal,  S.  E.  Alaska. ' ' 


158  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

It  was  published  in  1899,  but  first  appeared  in  1891.     The  latest 
aids  to  navigation  reach  Mar.  1902. 

The  scale  of  this  British  Chart  is  two-thirds  that  of  the  United 
States  Chart,  or  four  and  one-quarter  nautical  miles  to  one  inch. 
The  shore  line  is  quite  effectively  brought  out  by  conventional 
contouring  to  connect  the  mountain  peaks  determined  by  triangu- 
lation;  and  by  the  gray  tinting  of  the  land  surface.  This  makes 
the  lines  of  canals,  straits  and  bays  appear  more  in  accordance  with 
the  natural  aspect. 

The  name  Portland  Canal  is  given  to  the  northern  part  of  that 
great  arm,  and  Portland  Inlet  to  the  southern  and  wider  part.  The 
Pearse  Canal,  which  received  the  condemnation  of  Vancouver,  is 
shown  to  be  only  one-quarter  of  a  mile  wide  at  its  narrowest  part; 
and  the  name  is  placed  on  Pearse  Island.  No  name  is  given  to  the 
crooked  continuation  of  Pearse  Canal  between  Wales  Island  and 
Fillmore  Island,  and  between  Wales  Island  and  Sitklan  Island. 
The  dangers  to  navigation  therein  are  more  emphasized  than  in  the 
U.  S.  Coast  Survey  chart.  The  soundings  are  taken  from  the 
latter  authority. 

It  is  instructive  to  note  the  great  disproportion  in  breadth  and 
depth  of  that  dangerous  passage  way,  and  the  breadth  and  depth  of 
the  Portland  Inlet  and  Canal. 


REMARKS    UPON    THE   BRITISH,    RUSSIAN,    FRENCH 
AND  SCOTTISH  MAPS   AND  CHARTS. 


The  Russian,  French,  English,  Scottish,  and  the  early  Canadian 
maps  and  charts,  from  1827  to  1894,  agree  with  uniform  consist- 
ency in  laying  down,  with  more  or  less  accuracy,  the  ten  leagues 
border  around  the  Archipelago  Alexander.  The  Admiralty  Chart 
No.  2461  of  1856-65,  is  to  be  especially  noted  because  there  has 
been  an  evident  desire  to  delineate  the  Convention  boundary,  "par 
une  ligne  parallele  aux  sinuosites  de  la  Cote,  et  qui  ne  pourra  jamais 
en  etre  eloigneeque  de  dix  lieues  marines."  [Convention  of  1825, 
Article  IV.]  And  the  map  of  1857,  prepared  by  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  under  the  direction  of  Sir  George  Simpson,  for  the 
Special  Committee  of  the  House  of  Commons,  is  evidently  based 
upon  that  of  1856.  They  certainly  had  no  better  authority  avail- 
able. The  Admiralty  Chart  of  1877  with  additions  and  corrections 
to  1894,  is  of  the  same  character.  The  Scotch  map  of  1894  is  by 
one  of  the  best  geographers  in  Great  Britain.  The  French  map  of 
1844  was  gotten  up  by  order  of  the  King  of  France,  and  is  in  line 
with  the  British  maps  and  charts.  The  Russian  Admiralty  charts 
of  1848,  with  notes  by  Tebenkof,  and  of  1861,  are  by  official 
authority,  and  exhibit  their  understanding  of  the  terms  of  the 
Convention  of  1825.  '^^^  official  Canadian  map  of  1831  clearly 
intends  to  conform  to  the  Treaty  in  its  thirty  miles  border. 

We  have  placed  in  this  list  the  map  of  the  World-Wide  Atlas  of 
Johnston  of  Edinburgh,  because  the  original  boundary  line  followed 
the  usual  course  of  the  thirty  miles  wide  border;  the  newer  line  is 
certainly  from  Canadian  authorities. 

The  British  Admiralty  chart  No.  2458,  of  1896-1900  is  princi- 
pally based  upon  the  topographic  and  hydrographic  surveys  of  the 
United  States,  as  exhibited  on  the  Coast  Survey  chart  No.  8100 
of  1899.  It  presents  on  a  good  scale  the  relations  of  Portland 
Inlet  and  Canal,  Observatory  Inlet,  and  the  narrow,  dangerous 
passage  ways  leading  from  Dixon  Entrance  to  Pearse  Canal.  It 
needs  no  explanation;  it  tells  its  own  story. 


THE  CANADIAN  MAPS  AND  CHARTS; 
1 83 1  TO  1898. 


This  is  quite  a  long  list,  but  it  is  considered  essential  to  note  the 
chronological  change  of  sentiment  by  Canadian  authorities. 

1 831:  Hon.  J.  W.  Foster  in  the  Nat.  Geog.  Magazine^  Nov., 
1899,  gives  a  reduced  copy  of  part  of  an  official  Canadian  map, 
' '  compiled  from  the  latest  and  most  approved  astronomical  obser- 
vations and  recent  surveys  *  *  *  by  the  Deputy  Surveyor  General 
of  the  Province  of  Lower  Canada,  May  2,  1831;"  published  in 
London.  There  is  evidently  no  attempt  to  fulfill  with  precision 
the  directions  of  the  Convention  of  1825,  ^^^  the  general  idea  of 
a  border  or  coast-strip  is  carried  out.  Portland  Inlet  is  designated 
Observatory  Inlet;  there  is  no  Portland  Canal  or  Inlet  so  named. 
The  boundary  line  leaves  the  head  of  Portland  Canal  and  keeps  at 
an  average  distance  of  sixty  miles  inside  the  Continental  shore  and 
approaches  thereto  only  when  reaching  Mt.  St.  Elias. 

1857:  There  is  another  Canadian  map  of  1857,  compiled  by  the 
Provincial  Land  Surveyor  and  Draftsman  by  order  of  the  Commis- 
sion of  Crown  Lands.  Toronto,  March,  1857.  The  boundary  line 
runs  from  the  head  of  Portland  Canal  aronnd  Taiya  Inlet,  towards 
Mt.  Fairweather  (unnamed)  and  thence  to  Mt.  St.  Elias.  A  conven- 
tional range  of  mountains  is  laid  down  to  the  east  of  this  line. 
The  map  is  of  no  value  except  to  show  that  the  boundary  was 
recognized  around  all  the  arms  and  inlets  from  which  it  is  placed 
about  fifty  miles.     See  Mr.  Foster's  reduced  copy. 

1 871:  "Map  of  British  Columbia  to  the  56th  parallel,  com- 
piled at  the  Lands  and  Works  Office  Victoria  B.  C.  1871."  The 
boundary  line  starts  from  the  north  point  of  Pearse  Island  through 
Portland  Canal  to  the  head  and  thence  northwestwardly  to  near 
latitude  57°,  (edge  of  the  map).  It  is  marked  "Russian  Boun- 
dary 1827. "  This  is  the  only  case  we  find  of  the  boundary  starting 
from  Pearse  Island,  which  island  is  not  mentioned  in  the  Conven- 
tion, or  in  the  correspondence  of  the  negotiators,  or  in  Vancouver. 


EXAMINATION    OF   CANADIAN    MAPS.  l6l 

1877:  "Plan  of  Stachine  (Stikine)  River  by  J.  Hunter  *  *  * 
Sessional  Papers,  Vol.  XI,  No.  11,  1878."  That  is  the  notice  in 
Dr.  Dawson's  Report  B  of  1887,  page  47  and  page  63. 

This  survey  of  1877  was  undertaken  because  "the  Stikine  came 
prominently  into  public  notice  in  connection  with  difficulties 
respecting  territorial  jurisdiction  which  occurred  in  regard  to 
customs  and  other  matters.  *  *  *  This  map  shows  the  provis- 
ional boundary  line  adopted  without  prejudice  until  the  true  line 
shall  have  been  determined. ' '     (Page  64. ) 

It  is  well  to  remember  that  the  discovery  of  gold  on  the  Stakheen 
in  1 86 1,  led  to  the  visit  of  Her  Majesty's  sloop  of  war  Devastation  in 
1862,  and  the  visit  of  the  Russian  corvette  Rynda  in  1863. 
Dr.  Dawson  says,  page  62,  that  "a  Hudson  Bay  post  was  estab- 
lished on  the  east  side  of  the  river  [left  bank,]  in  1862  or  1863, 
and  maintained  until  1874,  when  it  was  moved  to  the  vicinity  of 
Glenora,"  farther  up  the  river.  Gold  was  discovered  in  the  Cas- 
siar  region  to  the  northeast  of  the  Stakheen  in  1872;  Dr.  Dawson 
says  1873. 

We  find  further  notice  of  this  survey  in  the  Year  Book  of  British 
Columbia,  as  follows:  "  In  1877,  Mr.  Joseph  Hunter,  Civil  Engi- 
neer, Victoria,  was  delegated  by  the  Dominion  Government  to 
make  a  survey  of  the  Stikine  River  for  the  purpose  of  defining  the 
boundary  line  where  it  crosses  that  river.  Of  course  his  report 
was  not  expected  to  be  final,  and  the  work  was  necessarily  hurried, 
but  it  was  important,  and  settled  the  matter  for  the  time  being. 
He  fixed  the  boundary  line  at  19.13  miles  from  the  coast  at  right 
angles,  and  24.74  miles  by  the  river."* 

The  information  conveyed  by  this  survey,  so  far  as  it  relates  to 
the  Stakheen,  is  given  in  the  description  of  the  map  of  1888. 

1884:  "No.  14  Official  Canadian  Map  of  British  Columbia, 
1884."  In  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146,  50th  Congress,  2d  Session, 
1889.     The  boundary  line  starts  from  Cape  Chacon,  ascends  Duke 

*  The  Year  Book  of  British  Columbia  and  Manual  of  Provincial  Information  to 
which  is  added  a  Chapter  containing  much  special  information  respecting  the 
Canadian  Yukon  and  Northern  Territory  generally.  By  R.  E.  Gosnell,  Librarian, 
Legislative  Assembly  and  Secretary  Bureau  Statistics.    Victoria,  B.  C,  1897. 


l62  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

of  Clarence  Strait  to  the  west  entrance  of  Behm  Canal,  follows 
this  to  the  head  of  Burrough  Bay  to  latitude  56°.  It  then  passes  to 
northwest  and  before  reaching  the  Stakheen  it  is  within  eight 
miles  of  the  coast,  and  crosses  that  river  at  twenty  miles  from  its 
mouth.  Then  by  a  long  regular  curve  it  passes  the  head  of  Taku 
Inlet  at  ten  miles  on  the  east,  and  thirty  miles  on  the  north ;  it 
sweeps  in  a  curve  around  the  head  of  the  Taiya  Inlet  at  thirty 
miles  distance,  and  continues  irregularly  to  Mt.  St.  Elias. 

One  feature  is  noticeable;  it  crosses  no  navigable  water  except 
the  Stakheen. 

1887:  "Department  of  the  Interior.  Map  of  the  Dominion 
of  Canada  corrected  to  January,  1887."  "Projection  on  oblique 
secant  cylinder."  Small  scale  of  95  miles  to  one  inch.  The 
boundary  line  commences  at  Cape  Chacon  and  runs  through 
Clarence  Strait  to  Behm  Canal  and  Burrough  Bay  to  latitude  56°. 
It  then  swings  in  sharply  toward  the  coast,  crosses  Bradfield  Canal, 
the  Stakheen  near  its  mouth  and  the  Taku  Inlet  half-way  to  its 
head;  then  turns  and  crosses  Lynn  Canal  from  Pt.  Bridget,  and 
runs  southwest  across  Glacier  Bay  inside  of  Pt.  Gustavus;  and 
close  around  Yakutat  Bay.  Pt.  Bridget  is  fifty  miles  south  of  the 
head  of  Taiya  Inlet. 

1887:  On  the  Canadian  Map  of  1887,  by  Dr.  George  M.  Daw- 
son, Asst.  Director  Geological  Survey  of  Canada,  and  inserted  in 
U.  S.  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146,  50th  Congress,  2d  Session,  as 
No.  15,  there  is  no  sign  of  a  boundary  line  and  no  mention  of  it 
in  the  notes,  but  Pearse  Canal  (unnamed)  is  made  to  appear  as  the 
lower  part  of  ' '  Portland  Canal  or  Channel, ' '  and  Portland  Inlet  is 
designated  ' '  Observatory  Inlet, ' '  which  term  is  repeated  at  the 
Observatory  Inlet  of  Vancouver's  chart. 

1887:  This  is  a  copy  of  the  Canadian  map  just  referred  to  with 
three  boundary  lines  laid  down.  The  most  easterly  runs  from  the 
head  of  ' '  Portland  Canal  or  Channel, ' '  the  lower  part  of  which  is 
Pearse  Inlet,  unnamed  and  drawn  more  than  half  the  width  of 
' '  Portland  Inlet. ' '  The  legend  on  this  line  is  ' '  Line  approximately 
as  shown  on  U.  S.   Coast  Survey  Map  of  Alaska,   1884.      N.  B. 


EXAMINATION    OF   CANADIAN    MAPS.  1 63 

this  line  disregards  both  the  Treaty  reference  to  mountains  and 
that  to  the  Ocean  Coast."  No  mountains  are  shown  upon  this 
map  and  the  great  arms  or  inlets  of  Snettisham  and  Holkham 
Ba^'S  are  not  indicated. 

The  western  or  most  southerly  boundary  line  makes  the  following 
courses:  It  starts  from  Cape  Chacon,  follows  Clarence  Strait  to 
the  western  entrance  to  Behra  Canal  and  thence  to  and  beyond  the 
head  of  Burrough  Bay  to  latitude  56°  04',  where  it  is  met  by 
another  boundary  line  coming  from  the  deep  water  head  of  Port- 
land Canal.  From  the  intersection  of  these  two  lines,  a  single 
line  swings  sharply  to  the  southwest,  then  north  to  cut  off  one- 
half  of  Bradfield  Canal,  crosses  the  Stakheen  about  ten  miles 
above  its  mouth,  follows  the  general  trend  of  the  coast  ^dthin 
six  miles,  crosses  the  Taku  Inlet  five  miles  from  its  entrance, 
crosses  Lynn  Canal  at  Pt.  Bridget,  and  Glacier  Bay  at  its  entrance, 
and  continues  thence  along  the  peaks  of  the  Fairweather  and  St. 
Elias  ranges  to  Mt.  St.  Elias.  At  the  northwest,  it  carries  the 
legend  "Lines  here  follow  St.  Elias  Alps."  From  Taku  Inlet 
southwardly,  the  legend  is  '  *  Line  approximately  following  summit 
of  mountains  parallel  to  the  Coast, ' '  but  no  mountains  are  laid 
down.  This  line  is  known  as  General  Cameron's.  The  third  line 
is  "Conventional  Line  No.  i."  It  starts  from  Portland  Canal  in 
latitude  55°  51',  and  of  course  south  of  the  deep  water  at  the  head 
in  55°  55'.  It  runs  in  a  straight  line  to  the  Stakheen,  another 
straight  line  carries  it  to  latitude  59°  12',  and  thence  west  to  inter- 
sect Cameron's  line. 

In  this  stretch  from  the  Stakheen,  it  would  cross  both  arms  of 
Holkham  Bay,  and  part  of  the  Taku  Inlet  near  its  head.  It  takes 
in  the  whole  of  Taiya  and  Chilkaht  Inlets,  and  Pyramid  Harbor 
and  the  salmon  canneries. 

This  map  and  the  preceding  have  added  the  name  ' '  Prince  of 
Wales  Archipelago"  to  the  "  Prince  of  Wales  Island,"  so  that  the 
boundary  shall  start  from  Cape  Chacon. 

1888:  "  Map  of  a  portion  of  the  Yukon  District,  N.  W.  Terri- 
tory  with    the   adjacent    northern    part   of   British    Columbia,  to 


164  T'HE    ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

accompany   the   Report   of  George   M.    Dawson,    D.  S.,    F.G.S., 
etc.  1888.     Sheet  i." 

On  the  Stakheen,  we  note  the  following: 

(i)  "Old  Custom  Ho.  Canadian;"  on  the  right  bank  three 
miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Iskoot  River,  and  thirty-five  miles 
from  Pt.  Rothsay  at  the  southern  mouth  of  the  Stakheen.  * 

(2)  "Hunter's  Survey  post  ten  marine  leagues  inland  at  right 
angles  to  general  trend  of  coast.  53.99  miles  from  Rothsay  Pt. 
1887." 

(3)  ' '  Temporary  Customs  Limit  pending  determination  of 
Treaty  Boundary,  J.  Hunter,  1877."  A  line  is  drawn  nine  miles 
westwardly  from  Mt.  Whipple  (6200')  which  lies  on  the  southeast 
side  of  the  river;  then  six  miles  N.  by  W.  across  the  river  to 
an  unnamed  mountain  of  3863  feet.  Where  the  line  crosses  the 
river  the  distance  to  Rothsay  Pt.  is  twenty-four  miles.  (See  Map 
of  year  1877  and  page  63 B,  Part  B,  Dawson's  Annual  Report  of 
1887.) 

1888:  "Index  Map  of  the  Yukon  District,  N.  W.  T.,  the 
Northern  portion  of  British  Columbia,  and  adjacent  regions  to 
accompany  report  of  George  M.  Dawson,  D.S.,  F.G.S.,  etc., 
1888."  In  this  map  there  is  no  boundary  laid  down,  but  from 
Mt.  St.  Elias  to  Bradfield  Canal  is  the  legend  "Boundary  of  Alaska 
Coast-strip  under  Anglo-Russian  Convention  (1825)  not  yet 
located;"  but  the  clear  intention  is  that  the  boundary  follows  the 
line  of  his  legend.  It  cuts  off  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay,  nearly 
all  of  Glacier  Bay,  crosses  Lynn  Canal  ten  miles  south  of  Bemers 
Bay,  crosses  Taku  Inlet  half  way  between  the  entrance  and  head, 
and  keeps  close  to  the  shore  to  reach  Bradfield  Canal. 

This  map  evidently  has  the  same  origin  and  authority  as  that 
mentioned  under  1887.  It  is  found  in  Dr.  Dawson's  Annual 
Report,  Part  B,    1887. 

*This  "  Custom  House  (Brit.)"  is  shown  on  sketch  of  the  Stakheen  in  "  Report 
upon  the  Customs  District,  Public  Service,  and  Resources  of  Alaska  Territory  by 
William  Gouvemeur  Morris,  Special  Agent  of  the  Treasury  Department,  Wash- 
ington: Government  Printing  Office,  1879." 


EXAMINATION   OF   CANADIAN    MAPS.  165 

1 888-1 889:     "Index  Map"  in  the  "Report  on  an  Exploration  of 
the  Yukon  and  Mackenzie  Basins,  N.  W.  T.,  by  B.  G.  McConnell, 
B.  A."      "  Part  D.     Annual  Report,  Vol.  IV,  1888-89,  of  the  Geo- 
logical and  Natural  History  Survey  of  Canada.     *    *  *    Published 
by  Authority  of  Parliament." 

This  map  includes  part  of  the  Pacific  Coast  from  west  of  Mt.  St. 
Elias  to  Juneau.  Along  the  outer  coast  from  that  mountain,  at  an 
average  distance  of  twenty  statute  miles  inland,  there  runs  the 
legend,  ending  at  the  middle  of  the  west  shore  of  Glacier  Bay, 
"Boundary  of  Alaska  Coast  Strip  under  Anglo-Russian  Conven- 
tion (1825),  not  yet  located. "  We  find  no  reference  to  it  in  the 
one  hundred  and  sixty-three  pages  of  the  report. 

1893:     "Map  of  the  Northern  coast  part  of  British  Columbia. 
Compiled  by  Direction  of  the   Honourable  F.    G.   Vernon,    Chief 
Commissioner  of  Lands  and  Works.     Victoria,  B.  C,  1893." 

This  map  reaches  to  latitude  56'.  It  shows  the  boundary  line 
from  Cape  Chacon  through  Clarence  Strait,  Behm  Canal  and  Bur- 
rough  Bay  to  latitude  56°.  The  legend  on  this  line  is  "  Interna- 
tional Boundary  by  convention  between  Great  Britain  and  Russia 
1825." 

1894:  "Map  of  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway."  This  map 
accompanies  the  History  of  British  Columbia  by  Alexander  Begg, 
Toronto,  1894.  It  reaches  to  a  little  north  of  56°  on  the  northwest 
coast  and  starts  the  boundary  line  from  the  head  of  Portland  Canal. 

1895:  "  Map  of  the  Province  of  British  Columbia,  compiled  by 
Direction  of  the  Honourable  G.  B.  Martin,  Chief  Commissioner  of 
Lands  and  Works.  Victoria,  B.  C.,  1895.  Compiled  and  drawn 
in  the  Department  of  Lands  and  Works  by  Gotfred  Jorgensen, 
C.E."  On  this  map  a  new  range  of  mountains  is  laid  down  from 
the  head  of  Burrough  Bay,  latitude  56°  to  Bemers  Bay,  and  thence 
across  Lynn  Canal,  and  down  to  and  across  Glacier  Bay. 

The  boundary  line  starts  from  Cape  Chacon,  follows  Clarence 
Strait  and  Behm  Canal  to  latitude  56°;  thence  keeps  close  upon  the 
coast  line  to  and  beyond  Bemers  Bay  when  it  crosses  Lynn  Canal 
and  Glacier  Bay.     In  its   course  it  passes  the  head  of  Bradfield 


1 66  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Canal,  crosses  the  Stakheen  about  seven  miles  south  of  the  ' '  Old 
Can.  Cust.  Ho. , ' '  crosses  the  Tracy  Arm  of  Holkham  Bay,  the  head 
of  Snettisham  Bay,  the  Taku  Inlet  at  its  middle  length,  the  Lynn 
Canal  from  Pt.  Bridget,  thence  to  near  Pt.  Gustavus  and  crosses 
Glacier  Bay  near  its  entrance,  and  thence  along  its  mountains  to 
Yakutat  Bay  where  the  map  ends. 

This  map  is  deceptive  in  the  fact  that  all  the  Kotusk  Mountains 
at  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  are  ' '  washed  out, ' '  and  a  broad  area 
embracing  the  water-parting  north  of  Lynn  Canal  is  represented  as 
a  plain.  The  truth  is  the  passes  across  the  crest-line  rise  to  three 
thousand  feet,  and  the  mountains  to  over  seven  thousand  feet. 
Compare  this  region  with  the  Yukon  Map,  Sheet  No.  i  of  1898. 
This  boundary  line  would  throw  fifty  miles  of  the  Lynn  Canal 
and  the  inlets  at  its  head  into  British  Columbia,  and  also  Glacier 
Bay  and  its  glaciers. 

1897:  "Map  of  the  Canadian  Yukon  and  Northern  Territory 
of  British  Columbia.  Compiled  and  engraved  for  the  Year  Book 
of  British  Columbia;  entered  according  to  Act  of  Parliament  of 
Canada  in  the  year  1897,  by  the  Province  Publishing  Company 
Ltd. ,  Lty. ,  at  the  Department  of  Agriculture. ' '  It  has  a  boundary 
line  designated  "  boundary  claimed  by  the  United  States,"  from  the 
head  of  Portland  Canal  and  about  thirty  miles  inland.  The  map 
reaches  northward  from  latitude  55^°,  so  the  Canadian  boundary 
line  is  seen  to  leave  the  southern  point  of  the  west  part  of  the 
Behm  Canal  close  under  the  shore,  then  up  Clarence  Strait  and 
Ernest  Sound  to  the  mainland  at  56°  on  Seward  Passage,  and  then 
overlooks  the  whole  shore  line  at  an  average  distance  from  two  to 
five  miles.  It  thus  crosses  Bradfield  Canal,  the  Stakheen  near  its 
mouth,  Conte  Bay,  Thomas  Bay,  Port  Houghton,  Hobart  Bay, 
Holkham  Bay  at  its  two  points  of  entrance,  (thereby  taking  in  the 
copper  mines,)  Snettisham  Bay  near  its  entrance,  Taku  Inlet  five 
miles  above  the  entrance,  crosses  to  the  opposite  shore  and  south  to 
Point  Salisbury,  then  across  Gastineau  Channel  to  Douglas  Island 
and  takes  in  half  of  the  island  east  and  west,  (thus  appropriating 
the  town  of  Juneau  and  the  Tread  well  gold  mines,)  leaves  the 
western  point  for  the  main  shore  to  the  north,  follows  that  shore  to 


EXAMINATION    OF   CANADIAN    MAPS.  167 

Point  Bridget,  then  crosses  Lynn  Canal,  cuts  oflf  nearly  all  of 
Glacier  Bay  and  finally  cuts  off  ten  miles  of  the  head  of  Yakutat 
Bay. 

This  is  the  most  remarkable  and  preposterous  of  all  the  Canadian 
claims. 

1897:  "The  Yukon  River  and  its  Tributaries."  June  18, 
Office  of  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  Ottawa. 

This  small  map  is  placed  in  the  pamphlet  of  sixty-five  pages  of 
interesting  matter,  entitled  ' '  Information  Respecting  the  Yukon 
District  from  the  reports  of  Wm.  Ogilvie,  Dominion  Land  Survey, 
and  from  other  Sources.     Department  of  the  Interior.      Ottawa." 

The  legend  "  British  Columbia  "  stretches  from  near  Yakutat 
Bay  across  Lynn  Canal  and  around  the  head  of  Taku  Inlet,  well 
inland  at  the  Stakheeu,  and  ends  near  the  Nasse  River.  On  the 
main  coast  from  Yakutat  Bay  to  Glacier  Bay  is  the  legend  ' '  unde- 
fined boundary." 

1898:  In  the  year  1898  the  Department  of  the  Interior  of  the 
Dominion  of  Canada,  issued  through  the  office  of  the  Surveyor 
General,  a  series  of  ten  or  more  maps  of  the  surveys  which  had 
been  made  by  the  parties  of  that  Department  a  few  years  earlier. 
No  attempt  has  been  made  to  delineate  the  boundary  line  thereon, 
but  several  points  of  interest  are  exhibited. 

"Yukon  Map,  Sheet  No.  i.  Surveyor-General's  Office, 
Department  of  the  Interior,  Ottawa,  June,  1898.  Chilcoot  and 
Wliite  Passes. ' '  The  topography  is  shown  by  shading  and  sketched 
contours.  The  heights  of  the  mountains  are  given  in  figures. 
Scale,  six  miles  to  one  inch. 

This  sheet  represents  the  mountains  of  the  Kotusk  Range  at  the 
head  of  Taiya  Inlet,  some  of  the  peaks  of  which  rise  more  then 
seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  It  shows  the  summit  passes  of 
the  White  and  Chilkoot  trails  through  this  range,  with  their 
heights.  The  fair  character  of  this  sheet  should  be  compared  with 
the  mutilated  Map  of  the  Province  of  British  Columbia,  published 
at  Victoria  in    1895,  already  mentioned. 


1 68  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

1898:  "Yukon  Map,  Sheet  No.  3,  Surveyor-General's  Office, 
Department  of  the  Interior,  Ottawa,  March,  1898."  Same  general 
characteristics  as  Nos.  i  and  2. 

On  the  Stakheen  there  is  a  broken  line  laid  down  with  the 
legend,  "Provisional  Boundary  Agreement  of  February,  1878." 
This  boundary  crosses  the  Stakheen  at  the  mouth  of  the  Kahtate 
River  about  twenty-six  statute  miles  above  Pt.  Rothsay  at  the 
south  entrance  of  the  river,  and  about  ten  statute  miles  below  and 
south  of  the  "Old  Custom  House."  The  legend  "British  Colum- 
bia ' '  passes  diagonally  through  the  middle  of  the  map  from  north- 
west to  southeast,  but  there  is  no  name  to  indicate  any  part  as 
being  in  the  territory  of  the  United  States. 

1898:  "Yukon  Map,  Sheet  No.  2.  Surveyor-General's  Office, 
Department  of  the  Interior,  Ottawa,  March,  1898."  Same  general 
characteristics  as  No.  i.  This  map  covers  Prince  of  Wales  Island 
without  indication  of  a  direct  survey,  which  was  not  necessary.  It 
follows  the  continental  shore  from  Pt.  Highland  near  Port  Hough- 
ton to  Sullivan  Island  in  Lynn  Canal.  It  lays  down  no  boundary 
line,  but  the  legend  "  British  Columbia  "  is  given  in  the  northeast 
angle  of  the  map  at  a  distance  of  only  twenty  statute  miles  from 
the  head  of  Taku  Inlet.  Through  Prince  of  Wales  Island  is  the 
legend  "Alaska." 

1898:  "Yukon  Map,  Sheet  No.  5.  Surveyor-General's  Office, 
Department  of  the  Interior,  Ottawa,  March,  1898."  This  map  has 
the  same  topographical  characteristics  as  earlier  numbers. 

It  exhibits  the  region  from  Pt.  Seduction  in  Lynn  Canal  to 
embrace  Lake  Labarge  north  of  61°  of  latitude.  It  delineates 
part  of  Lynn  Canal,  Taiya  and  Chilkaht  Inlets  and  follows  the 
Chilkaht  River  to  its  head  at  the  parting  of  the  waters,  about 
fifty-five  statute  miles  in  a  straight  line  from  deep  water  at  the 
head  of  the  inlet.  The  White  Pass  (Skagway)  and  the  Chilkoot 
Pass  are  given  their  approximate  elevations.  The  map  has  two 
legends  upon  it, — on  the  upper  part  "Yukon  District,"  on  the 
lower  part,  ' '  British  Columbia, ' '  just  north  of  the  Chilkoot  Pass. 
There  is  no  appearance  of  Alaska  on  it. 


EXAMINATION   OF   CANADIAN    MAPS.  1 69 

1898:  "  Yukon  Map,  Sheet  No.  4.  Surveyor-General's  Ofl&ce, 
Department  of  the  Interior.  Ottawa,  March,  1898."  The  topo- 
graphical characteristics  are  similar  to  earlier  numbers  of  the 
series. 

This  map  embraces  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  from  Dry  Bay 
(Allsegh'  River)  to  a  little  west  of  Yakutat  Bay.  The  head  of  this 
bay  is  laid  down  and  the  connection  therewith  of  Disenchantment 
Bay.  Some  peaks  of  the  St.  Elias  range  are  located,  but  not  Mt. 
St.  Elias.  On  this  chart  there  is  an  east  and  west  boundary  line 
laid  down  on  the  parallel  of  60°  that  ends  in  the  relatively  low 
mountains  around  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay  at  thirteen  statute 
miles  from  the  nearest  shore  thereof,  and  if  continued  would  cut 
oflf  part  of  the  bay  and  throw  it  into  Canadian  territory.  On  this 
map,  at  the  north,  is  the  legend  "Yukon  District,"  at  the  south 
of  the  line  mentioned,  "British  Columbia,"  and  near  the  seaboard, 
clear  of  all  the  mountains,  crossing  Yakutat  Bay  and  ending  at 
Dry  Bay,  "Alaska." 

1 898 :  ' '  Map  of  the  Northwestern  part  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada.  Preliminary  Edition.  Surveyor-General's  Office,  Depart- 
ment of  the  Interior.     Ottawa,  1898." 

No  boundary  line  is  laid  down  on  this  map,  simply  the  legend 
' '  Undefined  boundary. ' ' 

1898:  "Map  of  Western  Part  of  Dominion  of  Canada."  This 
map  accompanied  a  paper  by  Wm.  Ogilvie  of  the  Survey  of  Canada 
in  the  Scottish  Geographical  Magazine^  1898.  The  boundary  line 
leaves  the  head  of  Portland  Canal,  and  passes  along  the  water- 
parting  of  the  Chickamin  and  Unuk  Rivers  and  the  south  fork  of 
the  Stakheen,  thirty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Stakheen,  forty- 
five  from  the  head  of  Taku  Inlet,  thirty  miles  from  the  heads  of 
Taiya  and  Chilkaht  Inlets,  does  not  approach  Mt.  Fairweather, 
and  passes  about  sixteen  miles  around  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay 
and  thence  to  Mt.  St.  Elias.  This  is  the  first  map  to  recognize  a 
water-parting.  See  the  Map  No.  10  in  Mr.  Foster's  paper  in  Nat. 
Geographic  Magazine^  November,  1899. 

1 898 :     ' '  General  Map  of  the  Northwestern  part  of  the  Dominion 


lyO  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

of  Canada,"  compiled  from  many  sources  enumerated  to  1895  and 
1897,  and  "other  authentic  documents."  *  *  *  "Published 
by  Authority  of  the  Hon.  Clifford  Sifton,  Q.  C. ,  M.  P. ,  Minister  of 
the  Interior.  December,  1898."  The  scale  is  thirty-five  statute 
miles  to  one  inch. 

This  is  a  large  map,  and  extends  from  latitude  54°  to  beyond  the 
mouth  of  the  Mackenzie.  There  is  no  indication  of  the  boundary 
line.  On  the  parallel  of  60°,  the  west  end  of  the  boundary  line 
between  British  Columbia  and  the  Yukon  Territory,  is  laid  down 
close  to  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay,  and  across  the  Stakheen  there  is 
a  dotted,  short,  red  line  with  the  legend  ' '  Provisional  Boundary 
Agreement  of  1878." 

The  name  Alaska  is  on  the  main  body  of  the  Territory,  but  east 
of  Mt.  St.  Elias  the  name  is  on  the  mainland  and  on  the  islands 
immediately  bordering  the  outer  coast.  There  is  no  name  along  the 
continental  shore  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander.  All  the  region  of 
the  mountain  ranges  around  and  north  of  the  Archipelago  is 
marked  ' '  Unexplored. ' ' 

1901:  "Map  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  Department  of  the 
Interior.  Honourable  Clifford  Sifton,  Minister,  James  A.  Smart, 
Deputy  Minister,  1901.  James  White,  F.R.G.S.,  Geographer." 
-Scale  100  statute  miles  to  one  inch. 

On  this  map  Canada  is  colored,  the  United  States  is  not  colored. 
No  boundary  line  is  drawn  around  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  but 
the  coloring  marks  the  outline  of  the  coast-strip.  This  line  of 
coloring  goes  northward  through  Clarence  Strait  and  part  of  Behm 
Canal  to  the  entrance  of  Bell  Arm,  where  it  turns  to  the  north 
through  Bailey  Bay  to  latitude  56°.  It  crosses  Bradfield  Canal,  the 
Stakheen  near  its  mouth,  cuts  all  the  inlets  to  Holkham  Bay, 
which  it  crosses  at  its  mouth,  Snettisham  Bay  at  its  mouth,  crosses 
Lynn  Canal  near  Berners  Bay,  cuts  off  half  of  Glacier  Bay,  and 
includes  Disenchantment  Bay  and  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay. 

On  a  second  copy  that  is  uncolored,  there  is  no  intimation  of 
any  boundary  line. 


REMARKS    UPON  THK  CANADIAN  MAPS. 


The  Canadian  maps  have  gone  through  a  curious  and  suggestive 
series  of  transformations  in  their  exhibition  of  the  southeastern 
boundary,  from  that  of  1831,  which  (without  claims  to  precision) 
drew  the  lisiere  around  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  to  the  extrava- 
gant British  Columbia  map  of  1895,  where  the  boundary  line  passes 
through  Clarence  Strait,  cuts  off  the  heads  of  most  of  the  inlets, 
and  appropriates  fifty  nautical  miles  of  Lynn  Canal  and  Taiya 
Inlet,  and  forty  miles  of  Glacier  Bay. 

The  map  of  1857  begins  at  the  head  of  Portland  Canal,  and  the 
border  or  coast-strip  is  recognized  around  the  Archipelago.  That 
of  187 1  begins  the  boundary  at  the  northern  extremity  of  Pearse 
Island,  which  is  not  referred  to  in  the  Treaty.  In  1877,  ^^^  ^^^^ 
of  demarcation  was  admitted  in  the  location  of  a  provisional  boun- 
dary across  the  Stakheen  as  a  Canadian  Customs  station.  In  1884, 
the  ofiicial  map  starts  the  boundary  from  Cape  Chacon,  (twenty- 
three  miles  east  of  Cape  Muzon,  the  southernmost  point  of  Prince 
of  Wales  Island,)  and  thence  up  the  Clarence  Strait.  The  line  is 
irregularly  laid  down,  but  it  crosses  no  navigable  inlets.  The  two 
charts  of  1887,  as  exhibited  in  Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  146,  50th 
Congress,  2d  Session,  show  that  the  change  of  location  of  the 
boundary  had  received  official  authority.  Portland  Channel  of  the 
Treaty  was  abandoned  and  the  southeastern  part  of  the  Archipelago 
claimed  as  Canadian  Territory.  The  great  arms  of  Holkham  Bay 
were  included;  Taku  Inlet,  Lynn  Canal  and  Glacier  Bay  were 
appropriated.  Even  under  the  plea  of  a  "  Continental  line ' '  part  of 
Lynn  Canal  was  seized  above  latitude  59°  12'. 

Later  on  the  boundary  line  is  not  inserted  on  the  maps,  but  a 
legend  follows  its  washed  for  course.  In  1 895  the  British  Columbia 
authorities  ' '  washed  out ' '  the  Kotusk  Mountains  at  the  head  of 
Taiya  Inlet.  This  was  an  unusual  and  unwarranted  attempt  to 
mislead.  It  was,  however,  surpassed  in  the  map  of  1897,  when 
the  copper  mines  of  Holkham  Bay  and  the  Treadwell  gold  mines 
of  Douglas  Island  were  drawn    into  Canadian    Territory.     There 


172  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

could  be  no  greater  disregard  to  the  text  of  the  Convention  and 
Treaty  than  this.  Then  other  maps  omitted  the  boundary  line  and 
inserted  a  note  of  ' '  undefined  boundary. ' '  The  series  of  maps  of 
1898  issued  by  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  dependent  upon  Canadian 
and  American  surveys,  remain  content  generally  to  give  prominence 
to  ' '  British  Columbia ' '  and  put  ' '  Alaska  ' '  in  the  background  or 
even  omit  the  name.  They  do  not  lay  down  the  line  at  the 
water-parting  of  the  Kotusk  Mountains. 

The  Scotch  Canadian  map  was  drawn  to  illustrate  a  paper  pre- 
sented to  the  Royal  Scottish  Geographical  Society  in  1898  by 
William  Ogilvie,  who  had  made  some  of  the  surveys  around  the 
northern  part  of  the  Archipelago,  and  who  had  been  Land  Com- 
missioner at  Dawson.  This  is  the  first  Canadian  authority  that 
recognizes  the  water-parting  or  crest-line  immediately  northwest  of 
the  Portland  Canal. 

The  third  map  of  1898  largely  ignores  Alaska,  and  the  moun- 
tain region  is  noted  as   ' '  unexplored. ' ' 

The  colored  map  of  1901  claims  the  entrance  at  Clarence  Strait, 
and  makes  a  new  departure  to  the  northward  at  the  Bell  Arm  of 
Behm  Canal.  It  then  crosses  all  the  bays  and  inlets,  and  more 
than  one-half  of  Lynn  Canal  and  Glacier  Bay.  The  uncolored 
map,  which  is  from  the  same  plate  as  the  above,  affords  no  sign  of 
a  boundary  line. 

In  the  list  of  English  maps  we  have  inserted  Johnston's  World- 
Wide  Atlas  of  1899.  The  original  boundary  line  of  thirty  miles 
inland  has  been  partly  obliterated,  and  the  latest  Canadian  claims 
accepted  by  a  new  line. 

All  through  the  discussion  the  efforts  of  the  Canadian  authorities 
have  been  to  avoid  the  easterly  line  of  the  boundary  from  Cape 
Muzon  to  the  entrance  to  Portland  Inlet,  and  they  have  forgotten 
that  the  Russian  charts  quoted  had  named  Dixon  Entrance, 
Granitza  Strait;  which  means  Boundary  Strait.  We  prefer  to 
submit  to  the  Russian  charts  and  the  understanding  of  the  Russian 
Plenipotentiaries  in  that  matter. 


THE  AMERICAN   CHARTS;     1867  to  1901. 


1 867 :  In  this  year  the  United  States  Coast  Survey  issued  two 
or  more  editions  of  a  map  of  Alaska.  We  have  at  hand  the  second 
edition  of  May,  1867.  It  is  colored  and  entitled  "  North  Western 
America  showing  the  territory  ceded  by  Russia  to  the  United 
States  compiled  for  the  Department  of  State.  At  the  U.  S.  Coast 
Survey  Office,  B.  Peirce,  Supt,  1867."  '^^e  scale  is  nearly  70 
geographical  miles  to  one  inch.  The  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  was  a 
Bureau  of  the  Treasury  Department.* 

There  was  no  other  material  available  than  what  we  have  de- 
scribed to  that  date,  and  from  certain  peculiarities  in  the  course 
of  the  boundary  line,  and  from  evidence  elsewhere  adduced,  we 
judge  that  it  was  based  upon  the  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461  of 
1856. 

1869:  The  U.  S.  Coast  Survey  chart  of  Alaska  of  1869,  (see 
Superintendent's  Annual  Report  of  1867,)  has  some  interior  matter 
added,  but  nothing  to  affect  the  location  of  the  boundary  line, 
which  starts  from  the  head  of  Portland  Canal  and  runs,  without 
attempt  at  precision  in  locating  the  thirty  miles  limit,  around  the 
Archipelago  and  thence  to  Mt.  St.  Elias,  and  the  141st  meridian. 

1884:  The  map  of  "Alaska  and  adjoining  Territory,  April 
1884,"  No.  360,  is  used  to  illustrate  the  message  of  the  President 
of  the  United  States  transmitting  a  report  of  the  Secretary  of  State 
relative  to  the  frontier  line  between  Alaska  and  British  Columbia, 
Senate  Ex.  Doc.  No.  143,  49th  Congress,  ist  Session,  May  17th, 
1 886.  This  map  is  ' '  compiled  from  all  accessible  data, ' '  but  the 
boundary  line  has  not  been  laid  down  according  to  the  text  of  the 
Treaty  of  1867,  even  with  the  continental  shore  as  thereon  delin- 
eated. The  Chilkoot  Pass  is  shown,  but  the  boundary  is  carried 
beyond  that  water-parting  and  very  near  to  the  head  of  Lake  Ben- 
nett. Around  Yakutat  Bay  it  is  thirty-five  miles  from  the  head, 
and  the  range  of  the    ' '  St.  Elias  Alps ' '   lies  between  it  and  the 

*The  original  title  of  this  Bureau  of  the  Treasury  Department  was  United  States 
Coast  Survey;  after  1872,  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey. 


174  THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

Pacific.     The  boundary  line  begins  at  Cape  Muzon,  runs  east  to 
the  entrance  of  Portland  Canal,  and  thence  to  the  head. 

1 890-1 895 :  '  'General  Map  of  Alaska,  T, ' '  published  by  the  U.  S. 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  In  the  edition  of  1895,  the  boundary 
is  laid  down  from  Cape  Muzon,  through  Dixon  Entrance  to  Port- 
land Inlet,  and  thence  to  the  head  of  Portland  Canal.  It  does  not 
follow  the  line  prescribed  by  the  Treaty  of  1867.  It  crosses  the 
Stakheen  at  forty-five  miles  from  its  mouth,  thirty  miles  inside  the 
head  of  Taku  Inlet,  and  thirty  miles  north  of  the  head  of  Taiya 
Inlet,  thereby  crossing  the  headwaters  of  the  Lewes  River,  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  Yukon,  beyond  the  water-parting;  it  does  not  reach 
within  thirty  miles  of  the  coast  south  of  Cape  Fairweather,  but 
passes  thirty  miles  inside  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay,  and  just  west 
of  Mt.  St.  Elias.  This  line  is  therefore  erroneously  laid  down  at 
the  head  of  Taiya  Inlet  and  Yakutat  Bay. 

1898:  The  four  sheet  map  of  "The  Territory  of  Alaska  "  No. 
3091  was  published  in  April  of  that  year  by  the  United  States 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey.  It  is  on  quite  a  large  scale,  sixteen 
nautical  miles  to  one  inch,  and  the  boundary  line  around  the 
continental  shore  is  laid  down  at  an  average  distance  of  thirty 
miles  from  all  the  ' '  sinuosites ' '  except  at  the  Taku  Inlet,  where 
the  distance  is  greater.  It  sweeps  around  the  head  of  Taiya  and 
Chilkaht  Inlets  at  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  and  therefore  crosses 
the  head  of  Lake  Bennett  which  is  north  of  the  water-parting  of 
the  Kotusk  Mountains.  It  commences  at  Cape  Muzon,  runs  a 
little  distance  to  the  southeast  and  thence  east  to  the  entrance  of 
Portland  Inlet.  The  boundary  line  is  erroneously  laid  down  at 
the  head  of  Taiya  Inlet. 

1 899 :  ' '  Map  of  South  Eastern  Alaska. ' '  In  our  copy  there  is 
no  authority  or  date  specified.  There  are  two  legends:  "Boun- 
dary claimed  by  the  United  States,"  and  "Boundary  claimed  by 
Canada."  The  scale  is  57  statute  miles  to  one  inch.  It  was  pub- 
lished in  1899  by  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sur\^ey,  and  the 
legends  indicate  its  purpose. 

The  Canadian  claim  begins  at  Cape  Chacon,  passes  through  the 
dangerous  channel  leading  to  Pearse  Inlet  and  the  head  of  Portland 


EXAMINATION   OF   THE   AMERICAN   CHARTS.  1 75 

Channel.  Thence  it  strikes  nearly  due  west  to  the  head  of  Bur- 
rough  Bay,  and  keeps  so  close  to  the  general  directions  of  the  conti- 
nental shore  as  to  cross  all  the  deep  water  inlets.  It  crosses  Lynn 
Canal  at  the  north  end  of  Shelter  Island,  sixty-two  miles  south  of 
the  head  of  Taiya  Inlet,  takes  in  two-thirds  of  Glacier  Bay,  and 
part  of  Disenchantment  and  Yakutat  Bays. 

The  American  boundary  line  is  not  drawn  in  so  rigidly  as  the 
surveys  would  suggest,  but  at  the  White  and  Chilkoot  Passes  it 
adopts  them  as  the  boundary  line,  and  crosses  the  Chilkaht  River 
at  thirty  miles  from  deep  water.  It  errs  in  not  reaching  the  Fair- 
weather  range,  and  passing  along  the  north  side  of  the  Kaskar- 
Wurlch  instead  of  following  the  crest-line  of  the  Fairweather  and 
St.  Elias  ranges. 

1899:  The  chart  No.  8100  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geo- 
detic Survey  is  entitled:  "Clarence  Strait,  Revillagigedo  Channel 
and  Portland  Canal,  S.  E.  Alaska."  It  extends  from  latitude  54° 
35'  to  56°  02',  and  includes  all  of  Portland  Inlet  on  the  east  to 
Cape  Muzon  on  the  west.  The  scale  is  nearly  three  nautical  miles 
to  one  inch.  The  topography  is  not  expressed  except  the  rocky 
shore  lines,  and  the  isolated  peaks  of  mountains  which  have  been 
fixed  by  triangulation.  The  soundings  are  sufficiently  numerous. 
A  photo-litho  copy  of  part  of  this  chart  will  accompany  this  paper, 
and  therefore  it  need  not  be  described  in  detail.  The  deep  water 
of  Portland  Channel  reaches  to  latitude  55°  55',  where  the  caiion  is 
continued  to  56°  02'.  The  low  bottom  of  this  canon  is  composed 
of  detritus  brought  down  by  the  glaciers  on  the  east  side.  Through 
this  recently  formed  low  ground  the  Bear  River  cuts  its  way. 
The  mountains  on  each  side  reach  5000  feet  and  over,  at  two  miles 
from  the  shores.  The  deep  water  is  continued  one  mile  north  of 
Eagle  Point  on  the  west  side,  with  soundings  to  thirty-two  fathoms. 
The  spring  tides  rise  as  much  as  twenty-seven  feet. 

The  chart  exhibits,  in  the  most  convincing  manner,  the  dispro- 
portion of  width  and  breadth  of  the  master  channel  of  Portland 
Inlet  and  the  Pearse  Canal.  The  cross  sections  are  probably  in  the 
proportion  of  sixty  to  one. 

The  intricacies  of  the  passage  ways  through  the  islands  Pearse, 


176  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Wales,  Sitklan,  Kannagliunut  and  Tongass,  and  the  dangers  to 
navigation  therein,  are  very  clearly  exhibited. 

1900:  The  Chart  No.  8000  of  the  United  States  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey,  March  1 900,  is  entitled  ' '  Dixon  Entrance  to 
Cape  St.  Elias. "  It  is  on  a  good  large  scale  of  seventeen  nautical 
miles  to  one  inch. 

The  boundary  line  begins  at  Cape  Muzon,  passes  through  Dixon 
Entrance  and  Portland  Canal  to  latitude  56°,  follows  the  thirty 
miles  line  generally  from  the  heads  of  the  inlets,  crosses  the  Stak- 
heen  at  thirty-five  miles  in  a  straight  line  from  its  mouth,  thirty 
miles  from  the  head  of  Endicott  Arm,  and  thirty-five  from  the 
head  of  the  Taku  Inlet.  Thence  it  crosses  Atlin  Lake,  Taku 
Arm  and  Bennett  Lake,  that  all  drain  into  the  Lewes  River,  the 
great  tributary  of  the  Yukon.  It  sweeps  around  Taiya  Inlet  at  a 
distance  of  thirty  miles,  passes  east  of  the  Kaskar-Wurlch,  and 
thirty  miles  inside  of  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay,  thence  to  Mt.  St. 
Elias. 

The  terms  of  the  Treaty  of  1867  have  not  been  followed,  the 
water-parting  has  been  disregarded,  and  the  line  diflfers  greatly 
from  that  of  Chart  No.  8050  of  1901. 

1901 :  "  Dixon  Entrance  to  Head  of  Lynn  Canal."  Chart  No. 
8050  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  published 
August,  1 90 1.  This  is  on  a  good  large  scale  with  soundings  to 
the  head  of  all  the  inlets,  arms  or  ' '  sinuosites. ' '  The  extreme 
limit  of  the  sheet  is  only  seven  miles  north  of  Taiya  Inlet.  The 
boundary  line  begins  at  Cape  Muzon,  passes  in  a  straight  line  east- 
ward through  the  northern  part  of  Dixon  Entrance  to  the  middle 
of  the  entrance  to  "Portland  Canal,"  thence  to  latitude  56°,  five 
miles  beyond  the  head  of  deep  water.  From  this  point,  it  runs  in 
a  general  direction  parallel  to  the  coast  line  at  a  distance  of  thirty 
miles  therefrom.  It  pays  no  attention  to  the  seven  deep  inlets  or 
"sinuosites."  It  is  only  fourteen  miles  from  the  head  of  Taku 
Inlet,  twelve  and  thirteen  from  the  heads  of  the  two  great  arms  of 
Holkham  Bay,  and  twenty-five  miles  from  the  head  of  Burrough 
Bay.  From  latitude  56°  it  runs  in  nearly  a  straight  line  for  one 
hundred  and  ten  miles. 


EXAMINATION   OF   THE   AMERICAN    CHARTS.  177 

This  chart  embraces  the  latest  topographical  and  hydrographical 
surveys,  and  it  alone  affords  the  material  for  a  very  close  plotting 
of  the  line,  and  if  the  boundary  line  of  thirty  miles  be  drawn 
according  to  the  strict  wording  of  the  Treaty,  the  errors  of  the 
chart  line  are  shown  very  prominently.  In  this  statement  the 
question  of  the  crest-line  or  water-parting  of  the  mountains  is  not 
considered;  it  may  be  within  the  thirty  miles  limit. 


REMARKS  UPON  THE  AMERICAN  CHARTS. 


The  authority  for  the  American  charts  of  the  Archipelago  x\lex- 
ander  and  thence  to  the  westward  is  the  Bureau  of  the  United 
States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  under  the  Treasury  Department, 

At  the  epoch  of  the  Treaty  of  1867,  there  was  no  authority  for 
the  charts  then  existing  of  these  waters  except  the  Russian 
Admiralty  charts  and  those  of  the  Russian  American  Company, 
and  these  were  based  upon  the  Surveys  of  Vancouver,  and  in  some 
part  upon  those  he  obtained  from  the  Spanish  explorers.  Of 
course  many  details  had  been  added  by  the  officers  of  the  Russian 
American  Company. 

In  the  preparation  of  the  chart  of  1867  for  the  Department  of 
State,  it  would  seem  that  no  attention  had  been  paid  to  the  terms 
of  the  Convention  of  1825  or  the  Treaty  proposed  for  1867.  This 
view  is  sustained  by  the  boundary  line  of  that  chart  starting  from 
the  head  of  Portland  Canal,  and  thence  following  remarkably  close 
to  the  British  Admiralty  line  of  1856,  even  to  passing  between  the 
two  mountains  where  the  later  charts  place  the  Lion's  Head.* 
Had  the  text  of  the  Treaty  been  consulted,  the  boundary  would 
have  begun  at  Cape  Muzon  at  the  southwest  point  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales  Island,  (Archipelago,)  of  that  chart. 

The  chart  of  1869  added  nothing  to  our  knowledge  of  the  boun- 
dary. Then  for  some  years  there  was  an  apathy  in  Congress  about 
Alaska  and  no  appropriations  were  passed  for  surveys,  and  only 
small  yearly  amounts  to  keep  up  tidal  records  at  Sitka  and  Kadiak 

*  Coast  Pilot  of  Alaska,  U.  S.  Coast  Survey,  1869,  George  Davidson,  page  108. 


178  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Island.  The  traffic  in  furs  with  the  natives  stimulated  traders  to 
adventure  the  Archipelago,  and  the  discovery  of  gold  ledges  claimed 
investment  and  workers.  Sitka  increased  in  trade  and  population, 
Juneau  started  with  the  working  of  the  rich  Treadwell  gold  mines, 
and  Wrangell  controlled  the  traffic  of  the  Stakheen. 

Finally  the  people  demanded  regular  mail  facilities,  and  the 
vessels  carrying  the  mail  and  those  trading,  demanded  surveys. 
In  this  way  hydrographic  surveys  were  inaugurated  through  the 
channels  traversed  by  the  steamers. 

In  1872  Canada  was  awakened  by  the  discovery  of  gold  in  the 
Cassiar  region ;  in  1884-5  she  was  aroused  by  reported  mineral 
wealth  in  the  Northwest  Territory,  and  naturally  sought  a  shorter 
and  better  route  thereto  than  through  her  own  domain.  British 
Columbia  after  the  first  five  years  (i  881 -1885)  of  pelagic  fur  sealing, 
had  found  the  richness  of  the  Northwest  waters,  and  naturally  had 
an  interest  in  the  Archipelago  as  a  possible  region  for  fur  hunting. 

In  1884  the  Coast  Survey  chart  of  Alaska  laid  down  the  boun- 
dary line  from  Cape  Muzon  through  Dixon  Entrance  and  Portland 
Canal  to  the  head  of  the  latter.  Thence  the  line  is  not  laid  down 
in  the  terms  of  the  Treaty.  The  chart  was  used  in  the  Message  of 
President  Cleveland  in  May,  1886,  and  the  Secretary  of  State 
Bayard  informed  the  President  "that  the  British  Government  is 
prepared  to  take  part  in  a  preliminary  investigation,  and  that 
nothing  now  delays  action  but  the  want  of  the  appropriation  by 
Congress  necessary  to  enable  this  Government  to  take  part  in  the 
Survey."  * 

These  and  other  considerations  elsewhere  mentioned  conspired  to 
force  both  Canada  and  the  United  States  to  inaugurate  systematic 
surveys. 

In  1887  Canada  sent  exploring  parties  into  the  Yukon  district, 
one  of  which  determined  the  141st  meridian  where  it  crosses  the 
Yukon  River.  In  1889,  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  sent 
two  parties  to  the  Porcupine  and  the  Yukon  to  determine  the  loca- 
tion of  the  same  meridian,  and  both  were  successful.  After  these 
and  other  operations  the  Dominion  of  Canada  and  the  United  States 

*  Senate.    Ex.  Doc.  No.  143,  4gth  Congress,  ist  Session,  1886.     Pages  i  and  2. 


REMARKS   UPON   THE   AMERICAN   CHARTS.  1 79 

entered  into  an  arrangement  to  carry  on  the  trigonometrical  and  topo- 
graphical surveys  of  the  continental  shore  around  the  Archipelago 
Alexander,  and  as  far  northwest  as  Mt,  St.  Elias,  and  that  work 
was  finished  in  1895.  In  the  meantime  the  hydrography  of  all  the 
channels  and  inlets  was  carried  on  by  the  officers  of  the  U.  S. 
Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey. 

In  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  chart  of  1894-5,  the 
boundary  line  is  laid  down  from  Cape  Muzon  through  Dixon 
Entrance  to  Portland  Inlet  and  Canal;  but  beyond  the  head  of 
Portland  Canal,  it  does  not  follow  the  text  of  the  Treaty  of  1867, 
and  particularly  where  the  crest-line  or  water-parting  of  the  Kotusk 
Mountains  is  laid  down,  but  it  swings  north  thereof  and  crosses 
the  headwaters  of  the  Lewes  River  in  Canadian  territory. 

On  the  large  scale  map  of  1898  the  boundary  line  does  take  cog- 
nizance of  the  crest-line  at  the  head  of  the  Chickamin  and  Unuk 
streams,  and  also  around  the  north  tributary  of  the  Taku  River; 
but  it  fails  to  restrict  the  line  to  the  water-parting  of  the  Kotusk 
Mountains,  fails  to  cross  the  Chilkaht  and  the  Tklse-heenae  at  the 
thirty  miles  limit,  and  runs  on  the  north  side  of  Kaskar-Wurlch* 
instead  of  the  south  side.  Between  this  last  stream  (which  is  laid 
down  approximately  on  the  chart)  and  the  ocean,  the  mountain 
range  nearest  the  coast  lies  in  a  general  direction  southeast  and 
northwest,  and  swings  around  the  head  of  Yakutat  Bay. 

The  "Map  of  Southeastern  Alaska,"  of  1899,  was  issued  by 
the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  to  illustrate  the  claims  of  the 
United  States  and  Canada.  It  is  not  satisfactory,  because  although 
it  recognizes  the  crest-line  at  the  head  of  the  White  and  Chilkoot 
passes,  and  the  thirty  miles  limit  at  the  Chilkaht,  it  fails  to  recog- 
nize the  coast  range  of  mountains  from  Mt.  Fairweather  to  the 
northwestward. 

The  chart  No.  8100  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey,  published  in  1899,  has  been  taken  as  the  authority  for  the 
hydrography  and  topography  of  the  Admiralty  chart  No.   2458. 

*  Explattation  of  an  Indian  map  of  the  Rivers,  Lakes,  Trails  and  Mountains  from 
the  Chilkaht  to  the  Yukon,  drawn  by  the  Chilkaht  Chief  Koh-klux'  in  1869. 
George  Davidson,  1901. 


l80  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

It  is  on  a  good  and  satisfactory  scale,  so  that  the  proper  relations 
of  the  narrow  channels  to  the  broader  can  be  instructively  studied. 
This  is  of  much  importance  in  the  contention  that  has  been  put 
forth,  that  the  Pearse  Channel  is  the  "  Portland's  Canal"  of  Van- 
couver. Vancouver's  chart  was  ample  proof  to  the  negotiators  of 
1825;  this  should  be  convincing  to  the  still  more  exacting,  if  such 
there  be. 

On  the  chart  No.  8000  of  1900,  the  boundary  line  after  leaving 
the  head  of  Portland  Canal  follows  generally  the  thirty  miles 
border,  but  after  crossing  the  Taku  River  it  turns  so  far  in  from 
the  mountains  as  to  cross  the  head  of  Atlin  Lake,  Taku  Arm, 
several  streams  and  Bennett  Lake,  which  are  some  of  the  head 
waters  of  the  Lewes,  and  are  north  of  the  Kotusk  water-parting, 
which  is  fairly  well  laid  down.  No  attempt  has  been  made  to 
approximate  to  the  terms  of  the  Convention  and  Treaty  in  that 
region. 

The  chart  No.  8050  of  1901,  represents  the  continental  shore 
with  all  its  ' '  sinuosites ' '  or  inlets  to  the  head  of  deep  water  and 
beyond.  Nevertheless  the  text  of  the  Convention  and  Treaty  has 
not  been  followed.  From  the  head  of  Portland  Canal  the  boundary 
line  is  laid  down  in  a  nearly  straight  line  for  one  hundred  and  ten 
miles  without  regard  to  the  deep  water  inlets  or  even  the  changing 
coast  line.  It  passes  fourteen  miles  only  from  the  head  of  Endicott 
Arm,  which  carries  122  fathoms  of  water  to  the  face  of  the  Dawes 
Glacier.  It  heads  Taku  Inlet  at  a  distance  of  only  twelve  miles, 
which  carries  56  fathoms  of  water  at  the  face  of  Foster  Glacier. 
The  passes  of  the  White  and  Chilkoot  trails  across  the  Kotusk 
Mountains  are  not  within  the  limits  of  the  Chart,  but  it  passes  to 
the  east  of  Taiya  inlet  at  a  distance  of  twenty-three  miles. 

This  chart  furnishes  the  best  material  to  date  of  the  topography 
of  the  country  adjacent  to  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Archipelago 
Alexander,  and  taken  with  the  surveys  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
around  the  northern  and  eastern  sides  of  the  adjacent  mountains, 
an  approximate  line  might  have  been  laid  down. 


DEDUCTIONS  FROM  THIS  EXAMINATION  OF  THE 

MAPS  AND  CHARTS. 


In  concludins:  this  review  of  the  charts  named,  and  of  the 
surveys  that  have  been  carried  forward  towards  completion,  we  feel 
justified  in  expressing  a  general  opinion  thereon. 

The  charts  having  the  most  authority  are  those  published  by  the 
Governments  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  through  their  Admiralty 
Ofiices;  and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  Map  of  1857  presented 
to  the  Select  Committee  of  Parliament  by  Sir  George  Simpson, 
Governor-in-Chief  of  the  territories  of  that  Company. 

We  contend  that  the  terms  of  the  Convention  of  1825,  and  the 
Treaty  of  1867,  both  founded  upon  the  charts  and  narrative  of 
Vancouver,  are  sufficient  to  lay  down  the  limits  of  the  Lisi^re;  and 
that  the  French  texts  of  the  Convention  and  the  Treaty  are  those 
that  govern  its  location. 

Should  any  doubt  be  cast  upon  some  point,  the  published  docu- 
ments of  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain  are 
sufficient  to  make  the  matter  clear. 

The  only  question  of  doubt  is  in  the  distance  of  the  crete,  crest- 
line  or  water-parting  of  the  mountains  from  the  continental  shore, 
and  parallel  to  the  sinuosities  thereof;  and  for  the  solution  of  that 
condition  exhaustive  surveys  must  be  made  for  its  demonstration. 

Sufficient  surveys  have  been  made  to  exhibit  the  exact  location 
of  all  the  inlets  or  sinuosities  that  penetrate  the  continental  shore 
and  fix  the  thirty  miles  limit  therefrom. 


CONTENTIONS  AND  CLAIMS  MADE  BY  THE  DOMINION 

OF  CANADA. 


For  the  period  from  1825  ^o  1867,  during  the  occupation  of 
Alaska  by  Russia,  there  was  no  contention  made  by  Great  Britain 
or  Canada  about  the  boundary  between  Alaska  and  Canada,  as 
defined  by  the  Convention  of  1825.  Great  Britain  and  Canada 
had  been  satisfied  with  its  provisions.  During  the  larger  part  of 
that  time  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  had  uninterruptedly  carried 
on  extensive  fur  traflSc  with  the  natives  of  the  Archipelago  Alex- 
ander and  with  the  Russians  at  Sitka. 

Great  Britain  was  so  much  interested  in  developing  trade  through 
the  western  waters  along  the  British  Columbia  Coast,  that  she  had 
been  carrying  on  hydrographic  surveys  from  Victoria  northward 
from  or  about  the  year  1857;  and  when  these  surveys  reached  the 
position  of  Portland  Inlet  in  1868,  they  were  discontinued. 

Captain  Sir  Edward  Belcher,  R.N.,  Commanding  the  Sulphur^ 
in  1837  visited  Sitka  from  his  northern  exploration,  but  made  no 
survey,  or  even  passage  through  the  Archipelago  Alexander. 

The  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461,  of  1856-65,  laid  down  the 
boundary  line  with  due  respect  to  the  terms  of  the  Convention  so 
far  as  known  inlets  or  sinuosities  would  warrant.  The  same  is  to 
be  said  of  chart  No.  2683. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  map  of  1857  presented  by  Sir 
George  Simpson,  Governor-in-Chief  of  the  territories  of  the  Com- 
pany, was  accepted  by  the  Select  Committee  ot  the  House  of 
Commons  as  evidence  of  the  location  of  the  boundary  line.  It  was, 
judging  by  comparison,  based  upon  the  Admiralty  chart  No.  2461 
just  mentioned. 

Great  Britain  had  no  contentions  to  make  concerning  the 
boundary. 

The  first  contention  we  have  found  is  wholly  unofficial,  and 
might  reasonably  be  passed  by,  yet  it  is  recalled  to  indicate  the 
local  animus  on  the  subject.  It  will  be  remembered  that  placer 
gold  was  first  discovered  on  the  Stakheen  in  1861;  that  the  British 


CONTENTIONS   OF   THE    DOMINION    OF   CANADA.  1 83 

sloop  of  war  Devastation  in  1862  sought  and  obtained  permission 
from  the  Russian  Governor  at  Sitka  to  visit  the  mouth  of  that 
river  to  investigate  a  reported  attack  of  Indians  upon  British 
subjects;  that  in  1863,  the  Russian  corvette  Rynda  was  ordered 
from  Hakodade  in  Japan,  to  examine  whether  the  reported  mining 
claims  were  in  Russian  territory,  and  made  a  reconnaissance  of  the 
river  for  nearly  two  hundred  miles. 

After  these  events  the  British  Colonist^  a  newspaper  of  Victoria, 
V.  I.,  in  1863,  iiiacle  a  long  protest  against  the  occupation  of 
Alaska  by  Russia,  accentuated  with  such  ejaculations  as:  "America 
must  be  ours.  *  *  *  ^^e  mouth  of  the  Stikine  must  be  ours. 
*  *  *  The  strip  of  land  which  stretches  along  from  Portland 
Canal  to  Mt.  St.  Elias  with  a  breadth  of  30  miles,  and  which 
according  to  the  Treaty  of  1825  forms  part  of  Russian  America, 
must  eventually  becotne  the  property  of  Great  Britain. ' '  * 

Canada  made  no  contention,  and  Great  Britain  made  none;  there 
was  nothing  about  which  to  contend;  that  ebullition  acknowledged 
the  lisi^re  had  belonged  to  Russia. 

After  short  preliminary  propositions,  the  Government  of  Russia, 
in  1867,  ceded  all  its  territories  and  dominion  in  America  to  the 
United  States  for  a  specified  sum  of  money.  Neither  Great 
Britain  nor  Canada  offered  any  protest  or  contention  with  respect 
to  claims  upon  the  territory  of  Alaska.  Neither  Great  Britain  nor 
Canada  entered  one  word  of  protest  when  the  United  States  estab- 
lished a  military  post  at  Fort  Tongass  on  an  island  between  Cape 
Fox  and  Pt.  Wales. 

Before  and  after  the  purchase,  the  United  States  Government 
had  several  unsettled  boundary  questions  with  Great  Britain  about 
the  contiguous  territory  of  Canada;  and  after  the  decision  of  the 
San  Juan  Island  affair  in  1872,  President  Grant  was  anxious  to 
have  surveys  made  in  Alaska  to  properly  delineate  and  mark  by 
monuments,  the  line  of  the  lisiere  as  described  in  the  text  of  the 
Convention. 

At  the  same  time  Canada,  on  account  of  the  discovery  of  placer 

*  Ex.  Doc.  No.  ijj.     House  of  Representatives,  40th  Congress,  2d  Session,  Feb- 
ruary igth,  1868.     Page  140. 


184  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

gold  on  the  Stakheen  in  the  same  year,  was  anxious  to  have  the 
thirty  miles  limit  laid  down  on  that  river.  She  had  a  survey  made 
in  1877  provisionally  to  establish  a  Customs  House. 

The  Congress  of  1872  considered  the  estimated  cost  of  the 
survey  suggested  by  President  Grant  too  great  to  warrant  the 
undertaking,  and  left  the  subject  in  abeyance.  The  value  of  the 
whole  region  was  problematical,  except  the  fisheries  and  fur  sealing. 
From  1881  to  1885  British  Columbia  learned  the  value  of  the 
pelagic  fur  sealing  through  the  waters  of  Alaska  and  the  Bering 
Sea.  About  the  same  time  Canada  learned  of  the  mineral  wealth 
of  the  northwest  territory. 

From  1885  we  may  say  that  contentions  began  to  be  made  by 
Canada  and  by  British  Columbia.  The  first  contentions  made 
claims  at  the  southern  part  of  the  Archipelago  Alexander  in  order 
to  get  a  foothold  on  some  of  the  islands  and  on  the  lisi^re ;  later 
the  contentions  covered  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal  as  being  in 
Canadian  territory;  and  finally  the  claims  have  embraced  every 
inlet,  along  the  continental  shore,  sixty  miles  of  I/ynn  Canal, 
half  of  Douglas  Island,  Glacier  Bay  and  part  of  Yakutat  Bay. 

These  contentions  and  claims  were  made  by  the  Canadian  offi- 
cials and  writers,  and  by  British  Columbia  officials  and  writers. 

To  support  these  contentions  we  have  shown  in  this  paper  that 
maps  were  falsified,  the  language  of  the  treaty  misquoted,  miscon- 
structions placed  upon  certain  words  and  conditions  of  the  text 
and  the  use  of  the  name  Portland  Canal  therein  called  a  mistake. 
Publications  were  made  in  magazines  and  in  Government  docu- 
ments; and  in  the  Canadian  Parliament  the  subject  has  been  pre- 
sented adversely  to  the  United  States,  wherein  the  Prime  Minister 
Tupper  said :  ' '  There  are  only  two  other  ways  in  which  we  can 
settle  it.     One  would  be  by  arbitration  and  the  other  by  war."* 

In  1894-5  the  surveying  parties  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada 
joined  with  those  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey, 
made  a  geodetic  survey  to  delineate  the  orography  of  the  thirty 
miles  lisi^re,  and  the  hydrography  parties  of  the  United    States 

'''British  Columbia  Mining  Record,  Christmas,  1899.  Paper  by  Sir  Charles  Hib- 
bert  Tupper,  K.C.M.G.,  Q.C.,  M.P.     Page  4. 


CONTENTIONS   OF  THE   DOMINION   OF   CANADA.  1 85 

executed  the  hydrography  of  the  inlets  or  sinuosities  to  their 
heads.  We  consider  the  topographical  surveys  incomplete  in 
that  they  do  not  indicate  the  crest-line  of  the  mountains  bordering 
the  continental  shore,  and  they  left  unsurveyed  the  White,  Chil- 
koot  and  Chilkaht  Passes  across  the  Kotusk  Mountains  to  the  sum- 
mits of  said  passes,  or  to  the  thirty  miles  limit.  The  Canadian 
party  had  made  a  survey  across  the  divide  or  water-parting,  but  it 
is  not  represented  on  the  United  States  Chart  No.  8050. 

We  now  propose  to  briefly  present  some  remarks  upon  several  of 
the  points  at  issue  in  the  text  of  the  Treaty  of  1867,  in  addition 
or  in  fuller  explanation  of  what  we  have  hitherto  written. 


THE  UNITED   STATES   AND  BRITISH   COLUMBIA  DE- 
SIRE  THE   BOUNDARY    LINE    TO   BE   FIXED: 
VIEWS   OF   PRESIDENT  GRANT,     1872: 
STATEMENTS  OF  SECRETARY 
OF  STATE  BAYARD,  1886. 


In  1872  placer  gold  had  been  discovered  in  the  Cassiar  district 
which  embraces  Dease  Lake  and  River.  ' '  This  lake  may  be 
reckoned  as  the  center  of  the  District;"  it  is  in  latitude  58°  30', 
one  hundred  and  twenty  geographical  miles  square  in  from  the 
continental  shore,  and  on  the  east  side  of  the  continental  divide  or 
water-parting. 

Miners  subsequently  reached  it  by  the  way  of  the  Stakheen; 
cattle  and  pack  animals  by  way  of  Eraser  Lake  at  the  south. 
The  carrying  in  of  materials  by  way  of  the  Stakheen  involved  the 
collection  of  customs  duties,  and  the  Government  of  British 
Columbia  took  action  thereon,  as  is  seen  by  the  following  state- 
ment by  Mr.  R.  S.  Gosnell. 

"The  Legislative  Assembly  of  British  Columbia  in  1872  passed 
a  resolution  praying  the  Lieutenant-Governor  to  call  the  attention 
of  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  to  the  necessity  in 
the   interests  of  '  peace,  order  and   good  government '  of  taking 


1 86  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

steps  to  have  the  boundary  line  properly  defined.  The  immediate 
reason  for  this  was  that  gold  had  been  recently  discovered  in  the 
Cassiar  District,  or  northern  part  of  British  Columbia;  a  large 
number  of  miners  had  gone  in  and  a  considerable  trade  was  carried 
on.  There  was  practically  only  one  route  to  the  gold  fields,  and 
that  was  via  the  Stikine  River,  which  has  its  outlet  through 
Alaskan  or  American  Territory. "  *  *  *  Up  to  that  time  "the 
question  had  not  then  been  raised  as  to  the  Portland  Canal.  The 
latter  was  practically  accepted  by  both  parties  as  the  proper  boun- 
dary."* This  expression  of  opinion  is  justified  by  that  of  the 
Surveyor  General  of  Canada,  J.  S.  Dennis,  in  1874.  In  his  letter 
to  the  Minister  of  the  Interior  he  writes  that  it  would,  at  that  time, 
be  sufficient  to  know  where  the  boundary  line  crosses  the  rivers 
Skoot,  [the  south  fork  of  the  Stakheen]  Stakeen,  Taku,  Isilcat 
[Tsil-cut  of  Davidson  in  1869]  and  the  Chilkaht;  the  head  of 
Portland  Canal;  and  the  141st  meridian,  where  it  crosses  the  Yukon 
and  Porcupine  rivers,  t 

Mr.  Gosnell  continues :  '  'A  suggestion  was  made  by  the  American 
Government  that  in  lieu  of  an  accurate  and  exhaustive  determina- 
tion [of  the  boundary],  it  would  be  '  quite  sufficient  to  decide  upon 
some  particular  points,  and  the  principal  of  these  they  suggested 
should  be  the  head  of  Portland  Canal,  the  points  where  the  boun- 
dary line  crosses  the  rivers  Skoot,  Stakeen  (vStikine)  Taku  Islecat, 
and  Cheelcat,  Mt.  St.  Elias  and  the  points  where  the  141st  degree 
of  west  longitude  crosses  the  Rivers  Yukon  and  Porcupine. '  The 
Canadian  Government  was  quite  willing  to  accept  the  proposition, 
but  for  some  reason  or  other  nothing  more  was  done,  notwithstanding 
that  the  question  was  pressed  time  and  again  on  their  attention  by 
the  Canadian  Government."     (Gosnell,  pages  96-97.) 

It  must  have  occurred  to  General  Grant,  then  President  of  the 
United  States,  that  some  unforeseen  question  might  arise  about  this 
boundary  matter,  because,  when  referring,  in  his  annual  message  to 
Congress,  (December   2d,  1872),  about  the  settlement  of  the  San 

*  The  Year  Book  of  British  Columbia.  R.  E.  Gosnell.  Librarian  Legislative 
Assembly  and  Secretary  Bureau  Statistics.     Victoria,  B.  C,  1897.     Page  96. 

t  Sessional  Papers.     Vol.  XI,  V.  Sess.  3rd.  Pari.  Dom.  of  Can.  1878. 


EFFORTS   TO   FIX  THE   BOUNDARY.  1 87 

Juan  dispute,  (which  had  arisen  from  a  trivial  matter,)  he  said:* 

"  Experience  of  the  difficulties  attending  the  determination  of 
our  admitted  line  of  boundary,  after  the  occupation  of  the  terri- 
tory and  its  settlement  by  those  owing  allegiance  to  the  respective 
Governments,  points  to  the  importance  of  establishing,  by  natural 
objects  or  other  monuments,  the  actual  line  between  the  territory 
acquired  by  purchase  from  Russia  and  the  adjoining  possessions  of 
Her  Britannic  Majesty.  The  region  is  now  so  sparsely  occupied 
that  no  conflicting  interests  of  individuals  or  of  jurisdiction  are 
likely  to  interfere  to  the  delay  and  embarrassment  of  the  actual 
location  of  the  line.  If  deferred  until  population  shall  enter  and 
occupy  the  territory  some  trivial  contest  of  neighbors  may  again 
array  the  two  Governments  iu  antagonism.  I  therefore  recommend 
the  appointment  of  a  commission,  to  act  jointly  with  one  that  may 
be  appointed  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  to  determine  the  line 
between  our  territory  of  Alaska  and  the  coterminous  possessions 
of  Great  Britain." 

Acting  upon  this  recommendation  an  estimate  was  made  of  the 
probable  cost  and  time  for  making  the  survey  by  the  Government, 
and  it  was  fixed  at  about  one  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars,  and 
the  time  at  about  nine  years  of  field  and  one  year  of  office  work. 
These  estimates  prevented  the  appointment  of  the  proposed  com- 
mission. 

It  should  be  noted  that  even  this  public  declaration  did  not 
elicit  any  hint  or  suggestion  from  Great  Britain  that  she  had  any 
claim  whatever  to  be  settled.  In  the  letter  of  Secretary  Bayard 
(November  20,  1885),  he  adds  "The  condition  of  increasing  settle- 
ment apprehended  by  President  Grant  has  assumed  marked  pro- 
portions. ' '  A  few  paragraphs  before  the  above  the  Secretary  states 
that  "  it  is  certain  that  no  question  has  arisen  since  1867  between 
the  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  regard 
to  this  boundary." 

Nevertheless  the  United  States  began  to  awaken  to  any  possible 
challenge  of  her  boundary  rights.  The  Secretary  declared  that 
"  in  the  judgment  of  the  President  the  time  has  now  come  for  an 

*  Senate.    Ex.  Doc.  No.  143,  4gth  Congress,  ist  Session,  18S6.    Page  3. 


1 88     '  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

understanding  between  the  Government  of  the  United  States  and 
that  of  Her  Britannic  Majesty  looking  to  the  speedy  and  certain 
establishment  of  the  boundary  line  between  Alaska  and  British 
Columbia.  And  this  necessity  is  believed  to  be  the  more  urgent, 
inasmuch  as  the  line  is  found  to  be  of  uncertain  if  not  impossible 
location  for  a  great  part  of  its  length."     (Pages  3,  4.) 

The  Honorable  Secretary  could  not  know,  unless  by  report,  that 
the  location  was  impossible;  and  certainly  the  description  given  in 
the  Treaty  does  not  warrant  his  statement  that  it  is  uncertain.  On 
the  contrary  we  contend  that  the  terms  describing  the  boundary 
line  admit  of  only  one  construction. 

The  Honorable  Secretary,  evidently  relying  upon  the  statements 
of  other  persons,  falls  into  other  errors. 

When  he  enters  into  an  explanation  of  the  claim  of  the  United 
States,  he  writes;  (page  4)  "There  would  seem  to  be  ground  in 
the  text  of  Vancouver,  the  original  explorer  and  geographer  of  the 
region,  for  supposing  that  he  at  one  time  regarded  Pearse  Canal  of 
later  geographers  as  the  lower  part  of  Portland  Canal. ' ' 

As  a  matter  of  fact  Vancouver  was  very  much  vexed  that  he 
personally  had  given  so  many  days  in  his  boat,  away  from  the 
ships,  to  examine  intricate  channels  that  were  of  no  use  to  naviga- 
tion; and  he  especially  refers  to  the  strait  now  known  as  Pearse 
Channel,  as  an  intricate  passage.  When  he  was  leaving  Observatory 
Inlet  and  Portland  Canal,  he  would  not  risk  his  vessels  in  that 
strait,  and  he  evidently  did  not  consider  it  worth  naming.  * 

The  Secretary  also  errs  in  saying  that  Vancouver  was  the  orig- 
inal explorer  and  geographer  of  the  region  north  of  Dixon 
Entrance.  In  these  straits  and  channels,  Vancouver  found  Caa- 
mano  and  other  Spanish  explorers  and  navigators  who  had  already 
made  the  exploration  of  all  these  waters,  and  hence  to  the  south- 
ward and  to  the  westward.  They  gave  him  transcripts  of  their 
surveys;  their  outlines  and  names  of  places  can  be  noted  on  Van- 
couver's charts,  and  he  applied  Spanish  names  to  some  islands 
probably  not  named  by  them.  He  had  only  one  object  in  view, — 
the  delineation  of  the    "continental  shore," — the  Spaniards  were 

*  Vancouver:    Vol.  II,  pages  341,  345. 


STATEMENTS  OF  SECRETARY  OF  STATE   BAYARD.  1 89 

carefully  examining  every  canal,  inlet  and  island  from  Puget  Sound 
to  the  far  northwest. 

The  Secretary  speaks  of  the  Pearse  Canal  of  "later  geographers." 
It  was  not  examined  in  the  British  hydrographic  survey  of  1868, 
and  is  incidentally  mentioned  in  two  lines  in  the  Coast  Pilot  of 
British  Columbia  (Hydro.  Office,  United  States,)  before  quoted,  so 
it  is  doubtful  who  the  ' '  later  geographers ' '  are. 


PRESIDENT  CLEVELAND'S  MESSAGE  OF   MARCH 

2,  1889:     CRITICISM    OF    THE    STATEMENTS 

OF  MAJOR   GENERAL    CAMERON    AND 

DR.   DAWSON   OF   THE   CANADIAN 

SURVEY  DEPARTMENT. 


The  message  of  President  Cleveland  transmitting  his  report  of 
March  2d,  1889,  upon  the  boundary  line  between  Alaska  and 
British  Columbia,  contains  six  letters  of  American  and  Canadian 
officials,  the  texts  of  the  two  Conventions  of  1824-5  ^^^  1825,  the 
text  of  the  Treaty  of  1867,  and  eight  charts. 

The  letters  are  interesting  because  they  disclose  the  contentions 
of  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Government  of  the  Dominion  of 
Canada,  and  the  counter  opinions  of  an  American  officer  of  the 
U.  S.  Geological  Survey,  but  not  appearing  in  his  official  capacity. 

The  several  more  important  propositions  put  forward  by  the 
Canadian  authorities  are  as  follows: 

In  the  matter  of  Vancouver's  "conventional  and  arbitrary  "  line 
of  mountains,  the  chart  is  not  to  be  reckoned  with ;  but  reference 
must  be  had  to  his  narrative  and  therefrom  that  line  ' '  which  is 
represented  as  everywhere  rising  immediately  from  the  coast  and 
which  borders  upon  the  sea, ' '  shall  be  considered  the  only  practical 
one,  and  "it  is  therefore  to  the  summits  of  these  mountains  imme- 
diately bordering  the  coast  that  the  words  of  the  convention  must 
be  understood  to  refer. ' '  This  line  is  estimated  to  average  ' '  consid- 
erably less  than  five  miles, ' '  from  the  shore.    This  line  is  represented 


190  THK   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

by  the  Chart  No.  16  of  the  President's  message;  but  no  sign  of  any 
mountains  whatever  is  shown  thereon.  The  best  answer  to  this 
opinion  is  in  the  United  States  and  Canadian  Government  surveys 
of  1894  and  1895,  3.nd  in  the  proper  location  of  the  crete,  crest- 
line  or  water-parting  elsewhere  discussed. 

The  next  "important  question"  is  the  meaning  of  the  words 
"cote"  and  "ocean"  in  the  text  of  the  Treaty.  Major  General 
Cameron  asserts  that  in  the  second  clause  of  the  fourth  article  "  it 
is  there  laid  down  that  the  measurement  shall  be  made  not  from 
inlets  but  from  the  ocean,"  and  makes  the  following  quotation 
therefrom:  "Que  partout  oii  la  crete  des  montagnes,  qui  s'etendent 
dans  une  direction  parallele  a  la  cote  *  *  *  se  trouverait  a  la 
distance  de  dix  lieues  marines  de  1' ocean  *  *  *  la  limite  *  *  * 
sera  formee  par  une  ligne  parallele  a  la  cote,  et  qui  ne  pourra  jamais 
en  etre  eloignee  que  de  dix  lieues  marines."     (Page  5.) 

This  quotation  is,  to  use  a  mild  term,  disingenuous.  The  latter 
part  of  the  text  reads,  ' '  la  limite  entre  les  Possessions  Britanniques 
et  la  lisiere  de  Cote  mentionnee  ci-dessus  comme  devant  appartenir 
a  la  Russie,  sera  formee  par  une  ligne  parallele  aux  sinuosites  de  la 
Cote,  et  qui  ne  pourra  jamais  en  etre  eloignee  que  de  dix  lieues 
marines. ' ' 

The  text  uses  the  vital  word  "sinuosites,"  which  he  omits.  The 
value  of  the  paragraph  and  the  gist  of  the  question  are  destroyed 
by  that  inexcusable  omission.  Such  practice  is  paralleled  in  the 
British  Columbia  map  of  1895  where  the  Kotusk  Mountains  are 
' '  washed  out. ' ' 

Dr.  Dawson  declares  that  in  the  text  as  quoted  from  General 
Cameron  "the  word  ocean  is  wholly  inapplicable  to  inlets;  con- 
sequently the  line,  whether  marked  by  mountains  or  only  by  a 
survey  line,  has  to  be  drawn  without  reference  to  inlets."  As  the 
word  "sinuosites"  was  left  out  in  his  quotation,  we  might  let  this 
opinion  pass,  but  Dr.  Dawson  evidently  understood  the  force  of  the 
word,  for  in  a  third  paragraph  (page  6)  he  says;  "none  of  the  inlets 
between  Portland  Channel  and  the  meridian  of  141°  west  longitude 
are  6  miles  in  width,  excepting,  perhaps,  a  short  part  of  Lynn 
Canal."   *  *  *   "All  the  waters  within  the  mouths  of  the  inlets  are 


CONTENTIONS   OF   CANADIAN    AUTHORITIES.  191 

as  much  territorial  waters  *  *  *  as  those  of  a  fresh-water  lake  or 
stream."  And  finally  from  his  point  of  view,  "rivers  and  inlets 
are  identical."  It  is  not  necessary  to  discuss  such  propositions 
with  the  plain  words  of  the  Treaty  at  hand  to  contradict  the  violent 
construction  placed  upon  them.  Another  statement  made  in  Dr. 
Dawson's  letter  is  that  the  British  Columbia  Government  has  made 
the  contention  (page  6)  "that  the  words  '  dite  Portland  Channel,'  in 
Article  III,  are  palpably  erroneous. ' '  He  finds  trouble  in  reaching 
Portland  Channel  because  from  the  cape  first  designated  as  the 
southernmost  point  of  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  the  line  would  have 
to  go  east  instead  of  north;  and  moreover  by  ascending  Portland 
Channel,  the  line  could  not  strike  the  mainland  at  56°  because  the 
Canal  does  not  reach  that  latitude.  "If,  however,  the  name  only 
of  Portland  Channel  be  omitted,  and  the  directions  given  be  precisely 
followed,  the  line  will  ascend  Clarence  Strait  and  reach  the  main- 
land at  the  stated  latitude  and  by  the  stated  course."  (Page  7.) 
The  play  of  Hamlet  with  Hamlet  left  out. 

To  this  claim  we  have  explained  elsewhere  that  the  waters  of 
Dixon  Entrance  were  not  known  by  name  on  Vancouver's  chart  or 
in  his  narrative.  Vancouver  himself  reached  the  head  of  Portland 
Canal  (page  340,  Vol.  II,)  and  found  it  low  and  marshy  as  the  topo- 
graphy of  to-day  exhibits  it.  From  the  noon  of  July  28,  in  latitude 
55°  25',  he  did  not  reach  the  head  until  next  morning,  and  estimated 
his  latitude  55°  45'. 

But  we  need  not  discuss  the  matter  for  it  is  clearly  admitted  by 
a  quotation  in  the  paper  of  Hon,  David  Glass,  Q.C.,  in  the  Anglo- 
American  Magazine  for  December  1899,  (page  556);  "  Count  Nes- 
selrode  in  his  letter  of  April  [17]  1824,  ^s  above  quoted  says:  'We 
propose  to  carry  the  southern  frontier  of  our  domains  to  latitude 
fifty-four  degrees  and  forty  minutes  and  to  make  it  abut  on  the 
continent  at  Portland  Canal,  of  which  the  opening  into  the  ocean 
is  at  the  same  latitude  as  Prince  of  Wales  Island  and  which  has  its 
origin  inland  between  the  fifty-fifth  and  fifty-sixth  degrees  of  north 
latitude.'"* 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.    Volume   IV,    page  399;  Count  Nesselrode   to   Count 
Lieven,  April  17,  1823.     The  letter  is  in  French. 


192  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Nothing  could  be  more  explicit;  they  had  Vancouver's  chart 
before  them,  and  his  head  of  the  canal  is  placed  thereon  in  55° 
45'.  The  Plenipotentiaries  were  not  standing  on  what  would 
appear  to  them  as  a  very  trifling  matter.  These  explanations 
should  be  satisfactory,  but  they  may  be  readily  fortified  and  made 
conclusive  by  the  following  British  authority.  ' '  Amended  Pro- 
posal by  Sir  C.  Bagot"  inclosure  No.  2,  in  his  letter  of  March  17 
(29)  1824,  to  Mr.  George  Canning.* 

He  is  stating  that  as  it  has  been  agreed  upon  to  take  as  the  base 
of  the  negotiations,  the  mutual  conveniences  of  both  countries, 
"en  reponse  a  la  proposition  faite  par  les  Plenipotentiaires  Russes, 
qu'une  ligne  de  demarcation  tracee  de  I'extremite  meridionale  de 
I'lle  du  Prince  de  Galles  jusqu'a  1' embouchure  du  Canal  de  Port- 
land, de  la  par  le  milieu  de  ce  canal  jusqu'a  ce  qu'elle  touche  la 
terre  ferme,"  etc. 

After  the  foregoing  expressions  showing  that  the  negotiators 
understood  the  geographical  relations  of  islands,  capes,  straits, 
canals,  entrances  and  the  lisiere,  in  so  far  as  they  were  exhibited 
upon  the  charts  of  Vancouver,  Sir  Charles  Bagot  presented  a  reply 
to  the  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  (page  429)  that  showed  he  was  very 
unwilling  to  yield  Portland  Canal,  and  therein  he  made  this  extraor- 
dinary statement  in  relation  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  (page 
430) ;  ' '  Cette  Compagnie  a  en  eiffet  des  Etablissemens  meme  pr^s 
de  la  cote,  au  nord  du  55  degr6  *  *  *."  And  still  further  to 
magnify  the  claims  of  that  Company,  he  says:  "Iv'origine  du 
Portland  Canal  pent  etre,  comme  il  y  a  lieu  de  croire,  1' embouchure 
de  quelque  fleuve  qui  coule  par  le  milieu  du  pays  occupe  par  la 
Compagnie  de  la  Bale  de  Hudson,  et  il  est  par  consequent  d'une 
importance  majeure  a  la  Grande- Bretague  d'en  posseder  la  souve- 
rainet^  des  deux  rives."     (Page  430.) 

We  see  clearly  that  the  negotiators  fully  understood  the  value  of 
this  great  canal  with  its  broad,  deep  channel  way  running  far  into 
the  mainland. 

But  Dr.  Dawson  is  not  satisfied  with  the  Portland  Channel  even 
if  that  is  the  proper  route  for  the  boundary  line,  and  so  he  shifts 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.    Vol.  IV,  page  427. 


CANADA   SEEKS   AN   OUTLET   ON    LYNN    CANAL.  1 93 

it  to  Pearse  Canal  or  Channel.  "  It  is  at  least  certain  that  if  the 
line  of  boundary  was  intended  to  follow  Portland  Channel  it  was 
the  channel  so  named  by  Vancouver,  the  lower  part  of  which 
passes  to  the  north  of  Wales  and  Pierce  Islands  of  recent  charts, ' ' 
etc.  (Page  7.)  It  is  useless  to  follow  him;  the  whole  statement 
is  painfully  distorted.  We  have  elsewhere  elucidated  this  matter  of 
the  ' '  confusion  of  nomenclature ' '  of  the  Observatory  Inlet  and  the 
Portland  Canal;  and  have  shown  that  Vancouver  personally  sur- 
veyed the  Pearse  Inlet,  which  he  condemned  in  his  narrative  and 
did  not  name.  He  says,  "Portland's  Canal"  *  *  *  "from 
its  entrance  to  its  source  is  about  70  miles ' '  long,  (Vol.  II,  page 
371),  and  on  its  chart  it  measures  a  little  more.  The  course  of  his 
ships  is  through  Observatory  Inlet  and  Portland  Inlet  as  now 
named  on  Admiralty  charts;  the  survey  of  the  upper  part  of  Port- 
land Canal  was  by  his  own  boats. 

The  relative  character  of  the  Portland  Inlet  and  Pearse  Inlet  is 
shown  on  chart  No,  8050  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey, 
corrected  to  March  1902;  on  chart  No.  8100,  1899,  of  the  same 
Bureau,  on  a  very  good  scale;  and  on  a  slightly  smaller  scale  on  the 
chart  No.  2458  of  the  British  Admiralty  of  1S96,  corrected  to  1900, 
part  of  which  is  shown  in  Mr.  T.  W.  Balch's  paper  of  1903. 
(Page  117.) 

Later,  Dr.  Dawson  proposes  several  conventional  lines  for  the 
boundary;  but  his  ill-concealed  object  in  all  his  suggestions  is  to 
"give  Canada  a  foothold  at  the  head  of  these  inlets;"  *  *  * 
"  Portland  Channel,  Taku  Inlet  and  the  heads  of  Lynn  Canal;" 
and  in  case  "objection  should  be  taken  thereto,"  he  would  "con- 
sider it  advisable  to  revert  to  the  Treaty  boundary  which,  though 
no  doubt  requiring  expensive  surveys,  is  not  improbable  of  reali- 
zation."    (Page  9,) 

The  last  expression  of  his  judgment  nullifies  all  previous  special 
pleading;  and  is  in  the  right  line. 


THE  MODUS  VIVENDI  OF  1899. 


There  appears  to  be  a  wide-spread  opinion  that  the  temporary 
boundary  points  around  the  heads  of  the  Chilkaht,  Chilkoot  and 
Taiya  Inlets  were  fixed  for  all  time  in  1899  ^Y  ^^^  Governments  of 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  represented  by  the  Joint  High 
Commission;  and  that  the  Commission  of  February,  1903,  has 
authority  to  fix  the  rest  of  the  boundary.  This  erroneous  idea  may 
have  arisen  because  the  twenty  miles  line  across  the  Chilkaht  Valley 
and  along  the  Tklse-heensef  had  been  so  formally  laid  down  on 
the  map  "prepared  in  the  office  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sur- 
vey, Treasury  Department, "J  and  also  because  the  whole  question 
of  the  boundary  has  never  been  fully  understood  by  the  people 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  or  at  least,  has  excited  no  spirit  of 
interest  except  in  a  few  notable  instances. 

The  decisions  of  these  Commissions  have  no  positive  relation  to 
a  finality  which  requires  the  action  of  the  treaty  making  power  of 
the  United  States,  the  Senate. 

Before  considering  the  conditions  and  circumstances  attending 
the  adoption  of  the  Modus  Vivendi,  we  give  a  description  of  the 
map  referred  to,  which  presents  an  unsatisfactory  exhibit  of  the 
character  of  the  country. 

It  is  drawn  to  a  scale  of  five  statute  miles  to  an  inch ;  and  embraces 
the  territory  between  the  latitudes  of  59°  00'  and  59°  59',  the  longi- 
tudes 135°  00'  and  136°  27'  west.    It  covers  an  area  of  2570  square 

*  "Modus  Vivendi  between  the  United  States  of  America  and  the  United  Kingdom 
of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  fixing  a  provisional  boundary  line  between  the 
territory  of  Alaska  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada  about  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal. 

Concluded  by  exchange  of  notes  October  20,  1899,  by  John  Hay,  Secretary  of 
State  of  the  United  States,  and  Reginald  Tower,  Charg^  d'Aflfaires  of  Her  Britannic 
Majesty  at  Washington." 

t  Named  Klaheela  on  the  map  referred  to.  See  the  map  in  the  "Explanation 
of  an  Indian  Map  "  already  quoted. 

X"Map  to  Accompany  the  Modus  Vivendi,  concluded  October  20,  1899  between 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  fixing  a  provisional  boundary  line  between 
Canada  and  the  Territory  of  Alaska  about  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal.  Prepared  in 
the  Ofl&ce  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  Treasury  Department."  There 
is  no  date  to  it. 


196  THE   ALASKA.   BOUNDARY. 

statute  miles  and  the  southern  limit  is  twenty-nine  geographical 
miles  south  of  the  deep  water  head  of  Taiya  Inlet. 

Numerous  mountain  streams  are  laid  down;  the  outlines  of  the 
inlets  are  given,  but  no  indications  of  the  depths  of  water  which 
they  carry.  The  locations  of  glaciers  and  of  many  mountain 
peaks  are  shown  with  the  heights  of  the  latter  above  the  sea ; 
several  reach  over  seven  thousand  feet.  There  are  no  other  indi- 
cations of  the  orography  except  the  legends  ' '  White  Pass ' '  with 
the  height  2500  feet  obliterated  by  the  broken  line  that  marks  the 
Modus  Vivendi  boundary ;  and  the  ' '  summit  of  Taiya  or  Chilkoot 
Pass,*  3600  feet,"  marking  the  second  section  of  the  boundary. 

The  White  and  Chilkoot  Passes  are  at  the  two  low  breaks  of  the 
water-parting  of  the  Kotusk  Mountains  that  run  about  northwest 
and  southeast.  At  these  points  the  waters  draining  to  the  north 
reach  the  Yukon,  those  draining  to  the  south  reach  Taiya  Inlet. 

No  heights  are  given  along  the  Chilkaht  River,  but  the  heads  of 
the  streams  would  indicate  that  the  line  of  the  water-parting  was 
thirty-three  geographical  miles  from  the  Chilkoot  Inlet,  and  thirty- 
nine  geographical  miles  from  the  Chilkaht  Inlet.  The  railroad 
survey  of  1898  carried  a  line  of  levellings  up  the  Chilkaht  and 
along  the  Koh-klux'  trail  to  the  lower  reaches  of  the  Lewes. 

There  are  two  passes  at  the  headwaters  of  the  Chilkaht,  neither 
shown  on  the  map;  that  of  the  north  fork  is  5100  feet  above  the 
sea  at  a  glacier  that  forms  the  water-parting,  at  about  forty  or  fifty 
miles  in  a  straight  line  from  the  Chilkaht  Inlet,  and  twenty-five 
miles  from  the  head  of  the  Chilkoot  Inlet.  The  second  pass  lies 
just  north  of  the  large  mountain  called  Ah-klen'  by  the  Chilkaht 
Indians.  Here  a  small  lake  receives  the  extreme  headwaters  of 
the  Yagh-heen-a,  the  main  northwest  branch  of  the  Chilkaht. 
Just  north  of  this  stream  and  lake  lies  a  small  lake  from  which 
runs  the  Slit-la-glegh  to  the  northwest,  and  forms  the  headwaters 
of  the  All-segh'  that  empties  into  the  Pacific  Ocean  at  Dry  Bay. 
Between  these  two  streams  and  lakes  lies  the  water-parting  of  the 
Chilkaht  Pass  at  an  elevation  of  3100  feet  above  the  sea.     It  is 

♦The  Tsil-kut  of  Koh-klux',  1869. 


MAP   OF   THE   MODUS   VIVENDI.  1 97 

about  fifty  miles  in  a  straight  line  from  tlie  Chilkaht  Inlet,  and 
about  forty-five  miles  from  the  Chilkoot  Inlet. 

The  Crete  or  crest-line  of  the  mountains  is  therefore  beyond  the 
limit  of  ten  marine  leagues  from  the  sinuosities  of  the  continental 
shore. 

On  this  map  the  temporary  boundary  is  laid  down  across  the 
Chilkaht  River  at  eighteen  geographical  miles  from  the  head  of 
the  Chilkaht  Inlet,  and  only  thirteen  miles  from  the  deep  water 
head  of  the  Chilkoot  Inlet.  It  follows  westwardly  the  course  of 
the  Tklae-heenae  for  ten  miles,  and  then  southwesterly  six  miles  to 
a  peak  of  6500  feet  elevation.  The  Porcupine  River  runs  to  the 
northeast  parallel  with  that  part  of  the  boundary  course,  but  one 
or  two  miles  to  the  southeastward.  The  Porcupine*  River  was 
much  coveted  by  the  Canadians  on  account  of  its  placers. 

Recurring  to  the  Modus  Vivendi,  we  refer  to  the  practical  appli- 
cation of  its  decisions  at  the  three  localities  just  referred  to.  The 
Canadian  Customs  stations  near  the  White  and  Chilkoot  Passes 
were  to  the  northward  of  the  water-parting,  and  that  on  a  tributary 
of  the  Chilkaht  at  Pleasant  Camp  on  the  Koh-klux'  trail,  1852-69, 
was  approximately,  ten  marine  leagues  up  the  Chilkaht  River  from 
the  head  of  the  Chilkaht  Inlet.  The  change  of  the  first  two  was 
proper;  that  on  the  Chilkaht  was  in  direct  conflict  with  the  plain 
terms  of  the  Treaty.  By  the  Modus  Vivendi  the  United  States  has 
given  an  extensive  region  of  placer  gold  diggings  to  the  temporary 
control  of  Canada,  although  the  metallic  value  should  not  govern. 
Canada  has  entered  and  now  occupies  the  territory  of  the  United 
States. 

In  consideration  of  the  strained  relations  between  the  Canadians 
and  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  on  these  routes,  or  for  some 
inscrutable  reason,  it  may  have  seemed  politic  to  the  American 
members  of  the  Joint  High  Commission  to  yield  this  temporary 
advantage  for  the  period  during  which  negotiations  toward  a  settle- 
ment are  pending.  In  the  meantime,  however,  the  boundary  on 
the  Chilkaht  may  be  restored  to  its  rightful  location,  should  cir- 
cumstances demand  such  action. 

*  Thii  is  the  second  Porcupine  Rirer  in  Alaska. 


198  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

The  method  of  the  Modus  Vivendi  is  not  a  novelty  in  the  United 
States. 

During  Mr.  Cleveland's  first  administration,  1885-89,  there  was 
a  fisheries  treaty  relating  to  Canada  pending  in  the  Senate  of  the 
United  States;  and  a  Modus  Vivendi  was  agreed  upon,  which  was 
continued  for  some  years  after  the  treaty  was  rejected  by  the  Senate.  * 

The  method  was  also  accepted  in  1892-93  and  the  Bering  Sea 
was  closed  to  the  pelagic  sealing  fleet.  This  involved  certain  obli- 
gations upon  both  governments  to  prevent  the  extermination  of  the 
fur  seal  herd.  It  is  true  that  the  result  was  very  far  from  satisfac- 
tory because  the  United  States  complained  that  Great  Britain,  in 
1894  and  1895,  had  furnished  but  two  or  three  patrol  ships  to  the 
seventeen  vessels  maintained  by  the  United  States  in  those  waters. 
This  inefficient  method  of  Great  Britain  led  to  the  letter  of  instruc- 
tions of  Secretary  of  State  Sherman  to  Ambassador  Hay  in  July, 
1897,  wherein  he  declared  that  "England  has  from  the  beginning, 
and  continuously  failed  to  respect  the  real  intent  and  spirit  of  the 
Paris  Tribunal  or  the  obligations  imposed  by  it."  This  oflScial 
document  gave  rise  to  much  adverse  comment  in  London. 

What  causes  led  to  the  inception  of  the  late  Joint  High  Com- 
mission have  not  been  publicly  made  known.  Some  efforts  had 
been  made  to  reaching  a  Modus  Vivendi  or  a  final  settlement  of  the 
141st  meridian  boundary  before  the  preceding  letter  of  Secretary 
Sherman. 

Thus  on  the  30th  of  January  1897,  Secretary  of  State  Olney 
and  the  British  Ambassador  Sir  Julian  Pauncefote  signed  the  Con- 
vention for  the  definition,  by  the  Commission,  of  so  much  of  the 
Alaska  boundary  as  is  marked  by  the  141st  meridian.  The  formal 
designation  of  the  Treaty  is  "A  Convention  between  the  United 
States  and  Great  Britain  for  the  demarcation  of  the  boundary 
between  their  respective  possessions  in  North  America."  The 
intention  of  this  Commission  was  to  mark  the  meridian  which  had 
been  so  satisfactorily  determined  by  Mr.  John  P.  McGrath  of  the 
United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey,  and  Mr.  William  Ogilvie 

*See  Senator  Morgan's  remarks  in  the  Congressional  Record,  March  4th,  1898. 
Page  2775  (i). 


THE   CONVENTION   OF   1 897.  1 99 

of  the  Canadian  Land  Survey,  through  the  Forty  Mile  Creek 
district.*  This  stream  empties  through  the  left  bank  of  the  Yukon 
just  east  of  the  141st  meridian,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  placers 
upon  its  banks  and  tributaries  lie  west  of  the  141st  meridian  and 
therefore  in  American  territory.  The  administration,  or  the  friends 
of  the  administration,  announced  that  this  was  a  determination,  by 
peace-arbitration  with  Great  Britain,  to  settle  an  important  boun- 
dary dispute. 

"  The  Commission,"  in  the  language  of  the  Convention,  "is  to 
determine  the  terminal  points  defined  in  said  treaties, ' '  and  "to  be 
dependent  upon  the  scientific  ascertainment  of  convenient  points 
along  said  meridian,  and  the  survey  of  the  country  intermediate 
between  such  points.  This  Commission  is  to  involve  no  questions 
of  the  interpretation  of  the  aforesaid  treaties,  but  merely  the  deter- 
mination of  such  points  and  their  connecting  lines  by  ordinary 
processes  of  observation  and  survey,  conducted  by  competent 
astronomers,  engineers  and  surveyors." 

During  the  last  fifteen  years  many  important  events  have  trans- 
pired in  which  the  two  governments  had  certain  interests.  Among 
them  were  the  President's  Message  of  March  2,  1889,  on  this 
Boundary  Question,  after  the  astronomical  survey  of  Ogilvie  in 
1887-88  on  the  Yukon;  the  surveys  on  the  Yukon  and  Porcupine 
Rivers,  1890-91;  the  Bering  Sea  Controversy,  1892,  and  the  subse- 
quent resulting  friction  ;  the  surveys  by  official  parties  from 
Canada  and  the  United  States,  around  part  of  the  lisiere  in  1894 
and  1895;  the  Passamaquoddy  Bay  claims  of  Canada  in  1894  and 
1895;  the  action  of  the  President  through  the  Secretary  of  State 
in  the  Venezuela  boundary  matter  in  1895;  the  discovery  of  placer 
gold  on  the  Klondike  in  1897  and  the  strains  resulting  therefrom; 
the  war  upon  Spain  in  1898,  when  Great  Britain  was  generally 
credited  with  holding  back  the  other  European  powers;  and  the 
prospects  of  war  in  South  Africa  where  the  Boer  States  resisted  the 
suzerainty  of  Great  Britain. 

*  Mr.  John  H.  Turner  of  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  had 
determined  the  141st  meridian  where  it  crosses  the  Porcupine  River,  within  the 
Arctic  cnrcle,  and  had  made  a  sledge  trip  from  his  camp  to  the  Arctic  Ocean. 


200  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Unsatisfactory  conferences  between  the  American  and  Canadian 
Commissioners  had  been  held  in  1894  and  1895  under  the  Conven- 
tion of  July  22,  1882.  These  related  to  the  Alaska  Boundary, 
and  the  Passamaquoddy  Bay  dispute.  Suddenly  and  unexpectedly 
the  American  Commissioner's  services,  so  far  as  they  related  to  the 
Alaska  question,  were  ' '  terminated  on  receipt  of  this  letter ' '  from 
the  State  Department.  Then  a  commissioner  was  appointed 
wholly  unacquainted  with  the  subject,  and  not  qualified  for  the 
investigation  of  so  delicate  a  problem.  At  that  time  the  Depart- 
ment of  State  was  not  sufiiciently  conversant  with  the  importance 
of  the  subject. 

These  and  other  disturbing  causes  may  have  prompted  the 
Government  to  adopt  the  advice  of  President  Grant  in  1872  and, 
waiving  sharply  drawn  technicalities,  to  reach  a  final  settlement 
upon  the  justice  of  her  rights  in  the  long,  continuous  and  undis- 
turbed occupancy  of  the  territory  claimed  by  Canada. 

At  any  rate  the  two  governments  agreed  to  a  Commission  of 
four  persons,  two  on  behalf  of  the  United  States  and  two  on  behalf 
of  Great  Britain  to  prepare  the  way  for  a  proper  presentation  of 
several  matters  at  issue.  The  United  States  was  represented  by 
Ex-Secretary  of  State  John  W.  Foster  and  Reciprocity  Commis- 
sioner John  A.  Kasson;  and  Great  Britain  by  the  British  Ambas- 
sador at  Washington,  Sir  Julian  Pauncefote  and  Sir  Louis  Davies 
of  the  Canadian  Ministry. 

On  the  30th  of  May  1898,  this  body  met  in  conference  in  Wash- 
ington and  decided  to  name  a  Joint  High  Commission  for  the 
consideration  of  Pelagic  Fur  Sealing  in  Bering  Sea,  Commercial 
Reciprocity,  the  Alaska  Boundary  and  other  matters  of  interest. 

The  personnel  of  this  Commission  was  somewhat  remarkable. 
There  were  six  American  Commissioners,  and  five  Commissioners 
representing  Great  Britain.  Of  the  latter  four  were  from  the 
highest  Canadian  and  Newfoundland  officials.  There  was  no 
geographer  on  the  Commission. 

This  Joint  High  Commission  was  organized  for  business  at 
Quebec,  Canada,  August  23  1898. 

In  the  discussion  upon  the  Alaskan   Boundary,  which  extended 


THE  JOINT   HIGH   COMMISSION    OF    1 898.  201 

over  several  months,  the  Commissioners  could  not  agree  upon  the 
meaning  of  the  text  of  the  Convention  of  1825,  which  had  been 
so  clearly  understood  by  Sir  George  Simpson  in  1841-42,  and 
unhesitatingly  acknowledged  by  him  before  the  Select  Committee 
of  Parliament  in  1857. 

When  this  disagreement  became  fixed,  the  British  and  Canadian 
members  of  the  Commission  coolly  proposed  that  the  United  States 
should  cede  or  grant  to  Canada  in  perpetuity  Pyramid  Harbor,  the 
only  safe  anchorage  in  that  region,  and  one  and  two-thirds  miles 
south  of  the  deep  water  head  of  Chilkaht  Inlet.  With  this  was 
coupled  the  necessity  for  the  cession  of  a  strip  of  land  through  the 
breadth  of  the  lisi^re.  That  would  give  to  Canada  the  best  grade 
highway  into  her  Northwest  Territory,  with  a  rise  of  only  3100 
feet  in  about  fifty  miles,  and  on  the  best  route  thence  to  the  Lewes 
and  Yukon  Rivers.  There  is  no  other  so  favorable  route  into  the 
Canadian  territory  anywhere  on  the  northwest  coast.  It  would 
reach  Fort  Selkirk  at  the  mouth  of  the  lycwes  on  a  route  of  less  than 
four  hundred  statute  miles  with  no  greater  elevation  than  the  3100 
feet  mentioned.  It  is  such  a  remarkable  line  of  travel  that  Canada 
has  nothing  of  equal  value  in  exchange  for  it,  if  the  United  States 
could  for  a  moment  consider  the  proposition. 

When  viewed  calmly  this  proposal  of  the  Canadians  to  cut  the 
territory  of  Alaska  into  two  parts,  with  Canada  occupying  the 
dividing  area,  astonishes  every  citizen  at  its  supreme  assurance  and 
absurdity. 

We  have  always  believed  and  announced  that  the  early  conten- 
tions for  ingress  at  the  south  through  Clarence  Strait,  Pearse  Canal, 
etc. ,  and  the  later  claims  at  the  north,  were  made  solely  as  claims 
to  be  finally  yielded  for  the  sacrifice  of  Pyramid  Harbor  and  the 
rich  and  uniquely  situated  valley  of  the  Chilkaht  River.  There 
is  no  entrance  to  the  interior  plateau  by  any  of  the  inlets  of  the 
south.  Canada  failed  in  the  steamboat  enterprises  laid  out  for  the 
Stakheen  route,  and  some  pressure  was  exhibited  for  the  Skaguay 
route.  But  the  real  prize  was  the  Chilkaht  route  and  its  safe 
harbor,  as  well  as  the  larger  anchorage  northeast  of  Pyramid 
Island.     This  Chilkaht  route  was  surveyed  for  an  American  Railroad 


202  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Company  in  1898,  but  the  Boston  agents  could  get  no  conces- 
sions whatever  from  Canada  beyond  the  lisiere,  and  so  the  project 
was  abandoned.* 

With  Great  Britain  in  possession  of  the  Chilkaht  route,  and  with 
fortifications  at  Pyramid  Harbor  and  Pyramid  Island  (La-hut'sk  of 
Koh-klux')  such  as  exist  at  Esquimalt,  Vancouver  Island,  she 
would  control  the  Archipelago  Alexander  and  the  North  Pacific; 
and  could  readily  fill  the  Yukon  regions  with  means  of  warfare. 
This  has  been  fully  recognized  by  the  Canadian  historian,  Mr. 
Alexander  Begg,  whom  we  have  quoted  in  other  matters. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the  discussions  of  the  Joint  High 
Commission  except  to  say,  that  when  the  Commissioners  represent- 
ing the  United  States  suggested  the  selection  of  an  umpire  from 
the  American  Continent,  the  Commissioners  of  Great  Britain  con- 
sidered it  a  "most  objectional  "  proposition. 

It  was  thus  clearly  evident  that  no  conclusion  about  the  boun- 
dary could  be  reached  by  this  method  of  procedure,  and  after  seven 
months  the  Joint  High  Commission  adjourned;  and  the  matter  was 
referred  to  the  two  Governments. 

The  present  mixed  Commission  of  Jurists  on  the  Alaska  Boun- 
dary is  the  result  of  friendly  action  by  the  two  Governments.  A 
preliminary  convention  was  signed  at  Washington  on  the  24th  of 
January,  1903,  by  the  Secretary  of  State  John  Hay  on  behalf  of 
the  United  States,  and  by  Sir  Michael  Herbert,  Ambassador  of 
Great  Britain  on  behalf  of  that  country.  This  Convention  pro- 
vided that  the  question  of  the  Alaska  Boundary  should  be  referred 
to  a  Commission  of  six  Jurists,  three  of  whom  shall  be  nominated 
by  each  Government.  On  the  nth  of  February,  1903,  this  propo- 
sition was  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United  States. 

*  ' '  Sect.  4  of  the  Contract  made  by  the  Dominion  Government  with  Mackenzie 
and  Mann." 

"4.  For  five  years  from  the  ist  of  September,  1898,  no  line  of  railway  shall  be 
authorized  by  Parliament  to  be  constructed  from  Lynn  Canal  or  thereabouts,  or 
from  any  point  at  or  near  the  international  boundary  between  Canada  and  Alaska 
into  the  Yukon  District,  and  for  five  j-ears  from  said  date  no  aid  in  land  or  money 
shall  be  granted  to  any  person  or  company  other  than  the  contractors  and  the 
contractors'  company  to  assist  in  building  any  such  railway."  Congressio7ial 
Record,  March  4,  1898;  page  2774(1)." 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY   TRIBUNAL   OF    1903.  203 

By  its  construction  this  body  does  not  constitute  a  tribunal  of 
arbitration.  One  essential  condition  in  this  Convention  is,  that  the 
French  text  of  the  Articles  III,  IV  and  V  of  the  Convention  of 
1825  between  Russia  and  Great  Britain  shall  be  considered  the 
official  language;  and  that  logically  demands  the  introduction  of 
the  Charts  and  Narratives  of  Vancouver. 


TO  LAY  DOWN  AND  MARK  THE  BOUNDARY  LINE. 


Implicit  faith  cannot  be  placed  in  boundary  lines  to  be  laid 
down  minutely  upon  maps  or  charts,  unless  they  are  drawn  from 
satisfactory  surveys  made  under  the  direction  of  both  governments; 
and  when  such  lines  are  drawn  they  must  comply  with  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  defining  them. 

Many  instances  of  changes  during  the  last  few  years  clearly  indi- 
cate that  in  the  boundary  between  Alaska  and  British  Columbia, 
arbitrary  constructions  have  been  placed  upon  the  terms  of  delimi- 
tation, and  insufficient  and  even  erroneous  data  placed  upon  the 
charts  and  maps. 

As  a  rule  the  existence  of  sinuosities  or  deep  water  arms  or  inlets 
has  been  ignored  with  a  few  exceptions,  and  no  topographical 
surveys  have  yet  shown  that  the  crete,  crest-line  or  water-parting 
is  within  ten  marine  leagues  of  the  continental  shore. 

The  indications  are  that  it  is  beyond  the  ten  marine  leagues 
limit  except  at  the  Kotusk  Mountains,  marked  by  the  White  and 
Chilkoot  Passes,  and  along  the  crest-line  of  the  Fairweather  and 
St.  Elias  ranges.  Near  the  head  of  the  Portland  Canal,  the  two 
mountain  streams,  Chickamin  and  Unuk,  indicate  approximately, 
the  water-parting,  although  no  stream  head  has  been  determined 
as  draining  to  the  northward.  The  Stakheen,  and  the  Taku 
River,  cut  through  the  Coast  Range  from  the  high  plateau  east- 
ward thereof.  See  letter  of  Sir  James  Douglas  to  George  Davidson 
in  the  Appendix. 


204  THE    ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

No  stream  between  the  Stakheen  and  the  Taku  has  been  exam- 
ined to  the  water-parting,  and  yet  there  are  five  deep  and  navi- 
gable inlets  stretching  far  into  the  mountains.  Whiting  River  has 
not  been  examined  to  its  head. 

The  most  remarkable  case  of  not  making  an  exhaustive  survey 
of  the  water-parting  is  that  of  the  White,  Chilkoot  and  Chilkaht 
Passes,  which  are  easily  accessible.  The  reason  for  this  oversight 
on  the  part  of  the  United  States  is  unaccountable. 

In  1894-95  the  United  States  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  sur- 
veyed this  region  within  a  thirty  miles  limit  measured  apparently 
from  the  Seduction  Point  of  Vancouver  as  a  centre.  As  a  matter  of 
fact  that  point  is  twenty-three  miles  south  of  the  deep,  one  mile 
wide  canal  named  Taiya  Inlet  elsewhere  described.  That  survey 
might  have  beeit  carried  to  the  thirty  miles  limit  from  the  heads  of 
the  two  passes  leading  from  the  Taiya  Inlet  across  the  divide,  or 
certainly  to  the  water-parting.  We  know  from  a  line  of  levellings 
run  by  a  San  Francisco  engineer  for  railroad  purposes  from  the 
head  of  the  Chilkaht  Inlet  that  the  w^ter-parting  up  the  Chilkaht 
River  is  more  than  thirty  miles  from  deep  water;  therefore  that 
valley  should  have  been  surveyed  to  the  thirty  miles  limit. 

To  lay  down  the  boundary  line  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
Treaty,  we  should  be  governed  by  the  crete,  crest-line  or  water- 
parting  of  the  mountains  inside  the  continental  shore;  by  the  ten 
marine  leagues  limit  from  that  shore;  and  by  the  sinuosities  or 
deep  inlets  that  break  the  general  outline  of  that  shore  and  form 
part  of  it. 

If  we  suppose,  for  example,  that  the  crest-line  lies  to  the  east- 
ward and  northward  of  the  ten  leagues  limit  then  the  bounding 
line  can  be  laid  down  upon  the  chart  or  map  as  follows: 

From  the  head  of  each  deep  water  inlet,  canal,  sinuosity  or  bay, 
part  of  a  circle  is  described  with  one  point  of  the  dividers  at  each 
head  and  the  other  point  extended  to  the  ten  leagues  limit.  Where 
there  are  no  such  canals  or  inlets,  then  the  circle  is  drawn  with  one 
point  of  the  dividers  at  any  part  along  the  outermost  shore,  and 
the  other  point  extended   ten  leagues.     These  circles   should   be 


TO   LAY   DOWN   THE   BOUNDARY    LINE.  205 

numerous  enough  to  coalesce  with  the  circles  from  the  heads  of  the 
inlets. 

Then  through  the  inland  tangential  points  of  all  these  circles  a 
line  should  be  drawn,  which  line  will  represent  closely  the  line  of 
the  boundary  under  the  aforesaid  conditions. 

If  at  any  part  of  the  country  traversed  by  this  line,  the  crest-line 
or  water-parting  of  the  range  of  mountains  is  less  than  ten  leagues 
from  the  continental  shore,  then  the  boundary  line  must  follow 
that  crest-line  until  it  again  reaches  the  ten  leagues  limit,  and 
thence  continued  along  the  line  of  tangencies.  The  crest-line 
may  intrude  upon  the  ten  leagues  limit  more  than  once,  and  along 
the  Fairweather  and  St.  Elias  ranges  it  may  be  continuously  less 
than  the  ten  marine  leagues  limit. 

So  far  as  we  have  examined  the  later  charts  and  maps  this  method 
has  not  been  adopted,  but  some  arbitrary  system  has  been  applied. 

Such  a  line  as  we  have  suggested  may  be  laid  down  upon  a 
map,  but  in  such  a  wild  region  as  that  to  be  traversed,  it  would  be 
impracticable  to  mark  it  upon  the  surface  of  the  country.  We  say 
impracticable  in  the  ordinary  use  of  the  term. 

Under  such  adverse  surface  conditions  the  proper  method  of 
approximation  to  the  true  line  should  be  such  that  the  explorer  and 
the  miner  may  have  in  view,  at  all  times,  prominent  natural  objects 
which  he  may  recognize  from  official  descriptions. 

In  the  higher  mountains  peculiarly  formed  peaks  will  readily 
catch  the  eye;  these  should  not  be  many  miles  apart.  In  the 
valleys  of  streams,  or  in  passes,  special  monuments  may  be  erected. 

All  such  peaks  and  monuments  should  be  considered  as  connected 
by  a  series  of  straight  lines;  and  both  Governments  should  agree 
to  ' '  give  and  take ' '  on  some  reasonably  equitable  basis. 

It  is  quite  likely  that  along  parts  of  the  crest-line  of  the  moun- 
tains, and  on  either  side,  will  be  found  extensive  fields  of  nev6  or 
glacial  ice — mers  de  glace — from  which  glaciers  descend  through 
eroded  valleys. 


CONCLUSION. 


No  matter  what  the  unoflEicial  charts  published  since  1825  ^^.y 
indicate,  they  alone  are  not  sufficient  to  settle  the  question  of  the 
exact  location  of  the  Boundary  line  around  the  Lisiere.  Nor  is  any 
chart  to  be  credited  that  has  not  followed  the  terms  of  the  Con- 
vention of  1825  ^^^  the  Treaty  of  1867. 

The  decision  of  sovereignty  over  that  part  of  Alaska  embraced 
within  the  Lisiere  will  doubtless  be  mainly  based  upon  the  follow- 
ing conditions: 

1.  The  strict  construction  of  the  French  text  of  the  Convention 
of  1825  as  drawn  from  the  Charts  and  Narrative  of  Vancouver. 

2.  The  understanding  of  that  text  by  the  great  rival  fur  Com- 
panies, because  they  confessedly  advised  their  respective  Govern- 
ments. 

3.  The  vitality  and  effectiveness  of  the  protecting  barrier  of 
the  Lisiere. 

4.  The  rights  of  discovery,  occupation  and  assertion  acquired 
by  Russia,  and  continued  until  1867. 

5.  The  acquiescence  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  those 
rights  by  the  Governor-in-Chief,  Sir  George  Simpson,  and  his  suc- 
cessors, through  forty-two  years  (1825  ^^  1867);  during  which  the 
Russian  American  Company  jealously  and  effectively  permitted  no 
intrusion  or  interference;  and  during  which  period  the  Hudson's 
Bay  Company  made  several  leases  with  the  Russian  American 
Company. 

6.  The  purchase  of  these  rights  of  territory  and  sovereignty 
from  Russia  by  the  United  States  in  1867. 

7.  The  peaceful  exercise  of  those  rights  by  the  United  States 
to  the  present  time. 

8.  The  non-protest  and  acquiescence  thereto  of  Great  Britain 
in  and  after  1867. 

9.  The  acquiescence  thereto  of  Canada  from  1867  to  1885. 

Upon  these  conditions  alone  we  maintain  that  the  United  States 


208 


THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 


holds  an  impregnable  right  to  the  territory  and  dominion  of  the 
Archipelago  Alexander,  and  to  the  Lisi^re  surrounding  it  and 
bordering  the  main  ocean;  including  each  and  every  of  the  deep 
water  bays,  arms,  canals,  inlets  or  sinuosities  that  reach  into  the 
border  or  coast-strip. 

And  further,  notwithstanding  the  contentions  which  Canada  has 
forced  upon  the  United  States,  we  believe  this  question  should 
never  have  been  submitted  to  any  commission,  when  such  action 
might  lead  to  a  reference  of  the  rights  of  sovereignty  of  the 
United  States  to  the  decision  of  a  court  of  arbitration. 

Upon  the  rights  of  occupation,  possession  and  assertion  through 
seventy-eight  years  stands  the  title  of  the  Nation. 


THE  DECISION  OF  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY 

TRIBUNAL  : 
October  2oth  1903. 


As  this  paper  is  going  through  the  press  we  are  asked  to  make 
some  comment  upon  the  decision  of  the  Tribunal  so  far  as  the 
terms  have  been  given  to  the  press.  We  have  not  seen  the  official 
report  of  that  body,  *  but  have  received  a  copy  of  the  ' '  Map  showing 
Award  of  Alaska  Boundary  Tribunal,  October  20,  1903."  This 
Chart  has  a  scale  of  sixteen  nautical  miles  to  one  inch. 

In  August,  a  type  written  copy  of  this  paper,  without  the  chapter 
upon  the  Modus  Vivendi,  was  transmitted  through  the  Honorable 
Secretary  of  State  to  the  Agent  of  the  American  members  of  the 
Tribunal.  For  several  causes  the  printing  of  this  paper  has  been 
unavoidably  delayed. 

In  the  brief  statement  of  our  conclusions  we  expressed  the 
opinion  that  the  sovereignty  of  the  lisiere  around  the  southeastern 
part  of  Alaska  would  be  decided  upon  the  strict  construction  of 
the  French  text  of  the  Convention  of  1825,  as  drawn  up  from  the 
narrative  and  charts  of  Vancouver,  and  explained  by  the  corre- 
spondence and  papers  of  the  Russian  and  British  Plenipotentiaries 
that  led  to  the  consummation  of  that  Convention ;  by  the  sponta- 
neous acknowledgment  of  those  rights  by  Sir  George  Simpson, 
Go vernor-in- Chief  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company's  territories,  in 
his  narrative  of  a  "Journey  round  the  World"  in  1841-2;  by  the 
reiteration  of  his  judgment  before  the  Select  Committee  of  Parlia- 
ment in  1857;  and  by  the  occupation  and  assertion  of  Russia  until 
1867. 

Since  1867  the  United  States,  as  the  successor  of  the  unim- 
peached  title  of  Russia,  has  exercised  all  the  functions  of  dominion 
and  sovereignty  over  the  territory  of  Alaska  as  clearly  defined  by 
the  Convention  of  1825,  unchallenged  even  by  innuendo  until  1885, 
and  then  not  by  the  government  of  Great  Britain. 

*See  page  221,  when  we  received  it  as  we  were  writing  this  chapter. 


210  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Let  US  briefly  recall  some  of  the  principal  points  that  led  to  the 
Convention  of  1825,  the  Treaty  of  1867,  and  the  late  contentions 
of  the  Dominion  of  Canada. 

Before  1825,  Great  Britain,  France,  Spain,  Portugal  and  the 
United  States  had  no  rights  of  occupation  and  assertion  on  the 
northwest  coast.  The  formalities  of  ' '  taking  possession  ' '  at  every 
opportunity  did  not  weigh  against  the  rights  of  discovery  and 
occupation  by  Russia.  Had  that  empty  function  been  of  recognized 
national  value,  Spain  had  prior  rights  to  Great  Britain. 

There  was  no  English  settlement  on  the  coast  or  the  continental 
shore  of  Northwest  America,  notwithstanding  the  assertions  of  Sir 
Charles  Bagot  and  the  Deputy  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company.  Spain  had  systematically  examined  and  traced  the 
western  coast  of  America  in  1542-3  and  1603  as  far  north  as 
latitude  43°;  in  1769  her  explorers  by  land  had  seen  San 
Francisco  Bay,  and  founded  the  Mission  of  San  Carlos  de 
Monterey  in  1770;  and  Perez  had  reached  to  the  latitude  of 
54°  40'  four  years  later.  Russia  had  made  the  discovery  of 
the  Northwest  coast  in  1741,  and  her  occupation  and  further 
explorations  and  traffic  had  extended  along  the  coast  before  Cook 
appeared  in  those  waters  in  1778.  Then  came  Vancouver  in  1792- 
94  to  find  that  the  Spaniards  had  anticipated  him.  Russia,  with  a 
certain  policy  in  view,  extended  her  explorations  along  the  Pacific 
Coast  of  America  as  far  south  as  Cerros  Island  in  Lower  California 
in  latitude  28°;  and  in  181 2  had  established  the  stockaded  mili- 
tary, farming  and  trading  post  at  Fort  Ross  in  latitude  38°  30',  a 
few  miles  north  of  San  Francisco. 

Russia  remained  unchallenged  in  her  possessions  until  she  com- 
mitted the  short-sighted  political  blunder  of  issuing  the  Ukase  of 
1 82 1.  Then  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain,  to  protect  their 
fur  traders  on  the  coast,  promptly  protested  against  her  claim  to 
sovereignty  of  the  high  seas.  The  paramount  object  of  the  Con- 
vention of  1825  was  the  settlement  of  what  the  Secretary  of  the 
Foreign  Office  designated  "an  extravagant  assumption  of  maritime 
supremacy"  by  Russia,  "  to  territorial  rights  over  the  adjacent  seas 
to  an  unprecedented  distance;"  and  "an  offensive  and  unjustifiable 


GREAT   BRITAIN'S   UNWARRANTED   DEMANDS.  211 

arrogation  of  exclusive  jurisdiction  over  an  ocean  of  unmeasured 
extent. ' ' 

The  secondary  matter  of  the  boundary,  was  declared  by  Mr. 
Canning  "  7iot  on  our  part  essentially  a  negotiation  about  limits;" 
"the  whole  negotiation  grows  out  of  the  Ukase  of  1821."  "  The 
settlement  of  limits  *  *  *  ^as  proposed  by  us  only  as  a  mode 
of  facilitating  the  adjustment  of  the  differences  arising  from  the 
Ukase,"  etc.* 

Russia  had  fully  realized  the  grave  mistake  committed  in  pro- 
mulgating that  Edict,  and  that  matter  was  easily  settled. 

In  the  negotiations,  the  United  States  made  no  direct  territorial 
claims  north  of  54*  40';  and  therefore  the  duties  of  Mr.  Henry 
Middleton,  Plenipotentiary,  were  confined  chiefly  to  the  matter  of 
the  revocation  of  the  Ukase. 

The  readiness  with  which  Russia  had  suspended  the  ' '  oSensive 
pretentions  of  the  Edict,"  would  seem  to  have  stimulated  the 
British  negotiators  to  make  such  excessive  and  unwarranted 
demands,  that  Russia  would  have  been  driven  from  the  Archipelago 
Alexander  had  she  not  held  firmly  to  her  rights. 

Great  Britain  began  by  making  demands  for  territory  which  she 
had  not  discovered,  and  upon  which  she  had  never  placed  her  foot 
in  actual  occupation.  The  published  diplomatic  correspondence 
from  1822  to  1825,  demonstrates  that  the  claims  based  upon  the 
occupancy  of  a  trading  post  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  on  the 
Mackenzie  River,  were  made  to  stretch  six  hundred  miles  to  the 
Archipelago  Alexander,  across  a  terra  incognita^  except  the  known 
existence  of  Mackenzie's  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  knew  nothing  of  its  character,  and 
the  British  negotiators  received  their  information  from  that  source. 
The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  made  no  attempts  to  reach  this  region 
from  the  interior  until  1834;  nor  did  they  reach  the  Yukon  until 
1847,  when  they  invaded  Russian  territory.  As  late  as  1856  some 
British  geographers  discharged  the  Yukon,  one  of  the  great  rivers 
of  the  world,  into  the  Arctic  Ocean,  at  the  150th  meridian. 

Early  in  the  negotiations  Russia  had  sent  orders  for  her  vessels 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :     Vol.  IV,  pages  446  and  448. 


212  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

not  to  carry  out  the  provisions  of  the  Ukase.  She  had  not  named 
the  limits  of  her  territorial  claims,  yet  Mr.  Canning  was  fearful  she 
might,  and  wrote  to  Sir  Charles  Bagot  that  "we  must  not  on 
any  account  admit  the  Russian  territory  to  extend  at  any  point  to 
the  Rocky  Mountains."*  In  the  same  letter,  January  15,  1824, 
Russia  was  charged  with  ' '  an  unwarrantable  claim  of  territorial 
dominion,"  (page  419);  and  the  British  Ambassador  pressed  the 
boundary  question  with  such  astonishing  audacity  as  to  exceed  the 
instructions  of  the  Foreign  Office.  He  reaches  to  misstatement  in 
his  letter  from  St.  Petersburgh,  March  17  (29)  1824,  wherein  he 
declared  in  speaking  of  the  "Observations  of  Russian  Plenipoten- 
tiaries on  Sir  C.  Bagot's  amended  Proposal;"  "As  in  this  paper 
parts  of  the  main  continent  to  which  Russia  cannot  by  possibility 
have  ever  acquired  any  claim,  and  of  which  Great  Britain  is  at  this 
moment  actually  in  partial  occupation,  are  offered  to  His  Majesty 
in  the  light  of  concessions,  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  reject  any 
such  offers  as  a  boon  in  the  most  explicit  terms,"  etc.    (Page  425.) 

He  certainly  appeared  to  rise  to  the  value  of  the  Archipelago 
Alexander  to  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  when  he  claimed  all  the 
islands,  straits  and  continental  shore  thereof  from  Cape  Spencer 
eastward  and  southward. 

Mr.  Rush,  in  his  letter  of  August  12th  1824,  to  Mr.  Adams, 
wrote :t  "They  [the  British  Plenipotentiaries]  said  that  Great 
Britain  considered  the  whole  of  the  unoccupied  parts  of  America,  as 
being  open  to  her  future  settlements,  in  like  manner  as  heretofore. ' ' 
Mr.  Middleton  had  suggested  that  "  no  country  has  any  absolute 
and  exclusive  claim  to  these  coasts,"  but  that  the  United  States,  as 
heirs  of  Spain,  and  by  her  own  right  of  discovery,  had  the  best  of 
the  claims.  This  would  appear  to  have  ruffled  Sir  Charles,  for  in 
his  letter  of  October  17  (29)  1823,  from  St.  Petersburgh,  he  says: 
"I  am  still  more  strongly  inclined  to  believe  that,  as  a  division  [of 
territorial  rights]   once  made,  this  government  will  never  permit 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration :     Vol.  IV,  page  420. 

■\  AmericaJi  Annual  Register:  for  the  years  1825-6,  or  the  Fiftieth  year  of 
American  Independence.  New  York.  Published  by  G.  and  C.  Carvill,  108  Broad- 
way.    1827.     Page  34. 


Hudson's  bay  company  advises  the  government.     213 

the  United  States,  if  they  can  prevent  it,  either  to  fish,  settle,  or 
trade  with  the  natives  within  the  limits  of  the  territory  which  may 
be  allotted  to  Russia."*  From  the  papers  above  referred  to  we 
learn  that  the  British  made  claims  to  the  coast  as  far  south  as  lati- 
tude 42°. 

It  will  be  readily  understood  that  these  and  other  irritating  con- 
ditions retarded  the  settlement  of  the  questions  at  issue  between  the 
governments.  The  British  Plenipotentiary  had  affected  to  believe 
that  the  United  States  was  aiding  Russia,  and  therefore  the  com- 
mon action  of  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States  was  discontinued. 
There  is  no  published  evidence  to  sustain  this  belief.  Count  Nes- 
selrode  had  acknowledged  to  Count  Lieven  that  *'le  Cabinet  de 
Washington  a  reconnu  que  nos  limites  devoient  descendre  jusqu'au 
54°  40';"  April  17  1823,  (page  400).  But  Mr.  Rush  had  made  that 
fact  known. 

In  the  presentation  of  her  claims  to  Russian  territory,  the 
Foreign  Office  and  the  British  Plenipotentiary  were  prompted  to 
accept  the  dicta  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  as  specifically 
declared  by  Mr.  Canning  in  his  letter  of  September  17,  1822,  to  the 
Duke  of  Wellington.  He  was  referring  to  the  opinion  given  ' '  by 
Lord  Stowell  and  His  Majesty's  Advocate  General,"  upon  the  best 
legal  arguments  that  could  be  presented  in  opposition  to  the  claims 
of  the  Russian  Ukase,  and  wrote :  ' '  As,  in  both  these  opinions, 
much  stress  is  very  properly  laid  upon  the  state  of  actual  occupation 
of  the  territories  claimed  by  Russia,  and  the  difierent  periods  of  time 
at  which  they  were  so  occupied,  I  have  obtained  from  the  Governor 
of  the  principal  Company  of  His  Majesty's  subjects  trading  in  that 
part  of  the  world  the  information  which  your  Grace  will  find  in  the 
inclosed  papers."     (Page  387.) 

Then  eighteen  months  later,  in  his  letter  of  April  24,  1824,  to 
Sir  Charles  Bagot,  he  wrote :  * '  I  have  referred  the  whole  question 
of  this  negotiation  anew  to  the  Governors  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  whose  Report  I  expect  shortly  to  receive."     (Page  431.) 

The  knowledge  of  the  Governors  of  that  Company  was  received 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration  :     Vol.  IV,  pages  410-412. 


214  THK   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

second   hand  from   their  Factors,  and   these  latter    gathered  the 
reports  of  trappers  and  ' '  voyageurs. ' ' 

Mr.  J.  H.  Pelly,  Deputy  Governor  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Com- 
pany, in  his  letter  of  March  27,  1822,  to  the  Marquise  of  London- 
derry, refers  to  the  claims  of  Russia  in  the  Ukase,  and  to  the  terri- 
torial claims  of  the  United  States.  In  one  place  he  says:  "I 
need  not  remind  your  Lordship  that  a  large  part  of  that  country 
was  discovered  by  British  navigators,  and  taken  possession  of  on 
behalf  of  Great  Britain;  *  *  *  but  it  may  be  necessary  to  state 
to  your  Lordship  that  the  Americans  had  no  trade  with  the  natives 
until  long  after  the  British  Establishments  had  been  in  the  country 
to  the  westward  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. "     *     *     * 

' '  For  above  twenty  years  the  British  fur  traders  had  Settlements, 
and  the  Company  have  an  Establishment  of  200  men  on  the 
Columbia  River  at  this  period,  and  large  and  valuable  Establish- 
ments to  the  northward."     (Page  380.) 

It  is  to  be  noticed  that  he  does  not  claim  that  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  or  the  British  fur  traders  had  any  settlements  on  or  near 
the  coast.  In  September,  1822,  he  enumerates  the  four  interior 
stations  occupied  by  the  Company,  (page  383),  the  nearest  of  which 
to  the  region  in  dispute  was  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles 
eastward  from  the  entrance  to  Portland  Inlet. 

Under  date  of  October  17,  1822,  the  Duke  of  Wellington  drew 
up  a  "Confidential  Memorandum"  for  Count  Nesselrode,  in  which 
he  sljates:  "Now  we  can  prove  that  the  English  North-West  Com- 
pany and  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  have  for  many  years  estab- 
lished forts  and  other  trading  stations  in  a  country  called  New 
Caledonia,  situated  to  the  west  of  a  range  of  mountains  called 
Rocky  Mountains,  and  extending  along  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean  from  latitude  49°  to  latitude  60°."     (Page  387.) 

The  Russian  "  Memoire  Confidentiel  "  makes  denial  of  some  of 
the  Duke's  assertions,  and  among  the  statements  is  this:  "Les 
Cartes  Angloises  meme  les  plus  recentes  et  les  plus  detaillees  n'in- 
diquent  absolument  aucune  des  stations  de  commerce  mention- 
n^es  dans  le  Memoire  du  17  Octobre,  sur  la  cote  meme  de  I'Ameri- 
que,  entre  le  51*  et  60'  de  latitude  septentrionale. "     (Page  390.) 


NO   BRITISH   SETTLEMENT  ON    NORTHWEST   COAST.  215 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  never  had,  to 
that  date,  any  settlement,  fort,  station  or  establishment  near  the 
coast  except  the  temporary  hold  of  the  British  North-West  Com- 
pany at  Astoria  on  the  Columbia  River;  and  all  the  traffic  was 
with  and  through  the  interior  as  declared  by  Sir  James  Douglas, 
elsewhere  quoted. 

These  few  statements  from  official  documents,  fortified  by  more 
extended  evidence  through  this  paper,  afford  a  means  of  forming  a 
judgment  upon  the  one  supreme  question  before  the  Convention  of 
1825.  They  exhibit  the  object,  tone,  temper  and  power  of  the  two 
rival  fur  Companies,  and  of  the  Negotiators  of  both  countries. 

Russia  knew  her  rights,  but  there  was  a  weak  joint  in  her  armor 
that  was  never  referred  to  in  the  defence  of  those  rights.  Great 
Britain,  on  behalf  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  had  all  to  gain 
and  nothing  to  lose,  and  her  Plenipotentiaries  opened  the  great 
game  and  conducted  it  with  assurance;  she  was  more  vulnerable. 

Russia  never  confessed  that  supplies  for  the  people  of  the 
Russian  American  Company  were  largely  dependent  upon  the 
California  post  of  Fort  Ross.  Furthermore,  her  hunters  had  taken 
tens  of  thousands  of  otter  and  fur  seals  on  that  coast,  and  there 
was  yet  much  wealth  in  the  southern  fisheries. 

Two  weak  points  in  the  British  contentions  were  the  ignorance 
of  the  country  between  the  coast  mountains  of  Vancouver  and  the 
Rocky  Mountains  of  Mackenzie;  and  the  fatal  assertions  which 
her  negotiators  made  that  the  trade  stations  of  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  were  carried  as  far  north  as  60°  on  the  coast. 

The  discussions  of  the  negotiators  eventually  developed  a  fair 
knowledge  of  the  geographical  features  of  the  Archipelago  Alex- 
ander. The  authority  of  Vancouver  was  never  impeached  by 
Russia;  on  the  contrary  she  had  used  his  charts  upon  which  to  lay 
down  her  more  detailed  discoveries.  His  charts  and  narrative,  and 
the  language  of  the  Convention  of  1825,  were  used  in  the  Treaty 
of  1867;  and  the  earlier  United  States  Coast  Survey  charts,  and 
the  Admiralty  charts,  were  based  upon  them. 

The  negotiators  had  learned  the  relation  of  the  waters  of  Dixon 
Entrance  to  the   Prince  of  Wales  Island,  and  to  Portland    Canal ; 


2l6  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

they  certainly  knew  Portland  Canal  as  well  as  it  is  known  to-day, 
except  as  to  details  of  topography  and  hydrography.  They  dis- 
cussed the  chain  of  mountains  and  the  crest-line  as  conventionally 
laid  down  by  Vancouver.  They  were  aware  that  he  had  examined 
every  mile  of  the  continental  shore  and  had  located  all  the  sinuosi- 
ties thereof.  They  knew  what  the  term  lisiere  stood  for; — it  was 
the  stone  wall  which  the  British  Ambassador  could  not  breach. 

In  his  letter  to  Mr.  Canning,  Sir  Charles  Bagot  said  there 
were  three  points  upon  which  the  differences  appeared  to  be 
almost,  if  not  altogether,  irreconcilable.  Two  of  these  were:  "i. 
As  to  the  opening  y&r  ever  to  the  commerce  of  British  subjects,  of 
the  port  of  Novo  Archangelsk.  2.  As  to  the  liberty  to  be  granted 
to  British  subjects  to  navigate  and  trade  y^r  ever  along  the  coast  of 
the  lisiere  which  it  is  proposed  to  cede  to  Russia,  from  the  Portland 
Channel  to  the  60th  degree  of  North  latitude,  and  the  islands 
adjacent." 

Such  remarkable  propositions  could  not  be  accepted  by  any  self- 
respecting  government. 

Russia  stood  firmly  for  the  integrity  of  the  Archipelago  Alex- 
ander, and  the  protection  of  her  traffic  by  the  impregnable  lisiere. 
She  did  not  yield  to  a  single  one  of  the  contentions  of  Sir  Charles, 
who  was  then  recalled,  and  larger  powers  were  given  to  Mr.  Strat- 
ford Canning,  his  successor. 

Determined  not  to  permit  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  to  gain 
access  to  or  egress  from  the  interior  across  the  lisiere  by  way  of 
the  sinuosities,  Russia  yielded  to  Great  Britain  the  right  to  use 
the  rivers  and  streams  that  might  be  found  to  drain  the  interior. 
Then  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  through  the  efforts  of  the 
British  Plenipotentiary,  secured  ten  years  right  for  fishing,  and  for 
trading  with  the  natives  of  the  Archipelago.  The  same  privilege 
had  been  given  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  in  the  Conven- 
tion with  Russia. 

During  the  three  years  through  which  the  negotiations  had  been 
conducted,  every  contingency  had  been  thoroughly  thrashed;  the 
rival  Companies  had  made  their  fight,  and  the  Plenipotentiaries 
were  then  enabled  to  draw  up  their  agreements  in  the  form  of  the 


RUSSIA  JEALOUSLY   GUARDED  HER   RIGHTS.  217 

Convention  of  1825.  So  well  did  they  understand  each  other  that 
the  language  is  terse,  concise,  descriptive  and  eflfective.  The 
description  of  the  bounding  line  of  the  lisiere  is  clear  and  decisive; 
there  is  no  mental  reservation  therein;  there  is  no  trickery  or 
ambiguity  of  language.  It  admits  of  only  one  interpretation. 
The  interpretation  and  understanding  of  that  remarkable  docu- 
ment stood  the  test  of  forty-two  years.  With  a  thorough  survey 
according  to  modern  methods,  the  niceties  of  the  bounding  line 
can  be  laid  down  with  severe  precision  upon  the  wording  of  that 
document. 

Russia  jealously  guarded  her  rights  through  the  Russian  Ameri- 
can Company  with  its  imperial  prerogatives. 

When  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  near  the  end  of  the  ten  years 
privileges  tried  to  obtain  a  foothold  near  the  mouth  of  the  Stak- 
heen,  by  sending  the  brig  Dryad  from  Fort  Vancouver  on  the 
Columbia  River,  it  had  no  other  recourse  than  to  establish  the 
post  at  Fort  Simpson,  and  then  sought  to  obtain  a  second  lease. 
It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  founded 
this  post  on  the  east  side  of  Portland  Inlet,  and  not  on  the  west 
where  Tongass  was  as  accessible,  but  was  recognized  as  being  in 
Russian  territory. 

In  1854,  during  the  Crimean  war,  the  rival  Companies  again 
showed  their  powers  by  making  a  compact  in  which  they  ' '  agreed 
not  to  molest  each  other "  *  *  *  and  ' '  both  Governments 
confirmed  the  arrangements."* 

In  1862  the  Commander  of  the  British  sloop-of-war  Devastation 
sought  and  obtained  permission  from  the  Governor  of  Alaska  to 
make  a  visit  to  the  Stakheen,  as  elsewhere  related. 

In  1863  the  Russian  corvette  Rynda  made  a  reconnaissance  of 
the  Stakheen  for  nearly  one  hundred  miles. 

In  1867  Russia  renewed  the  offer  of  1854  to  sell  her  possessions 
in  the  Northeast  Pacific,  to  the  United  States,  and  the  Treaty 
proclaimed  June  20th  1867,  was  the  result. 

*  Report  from  the  Seted  Committee  on  the  Hudson's  Bay  Committee.  *  *  * 
Ordered  by  the  House  of  Commons,  to  be  printed  31  July  and  11  August,  1857. 
Questions  and  Answers  Nos.  1738-1742. 


2l8  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

By  that  Treaty  the  United  States  succeeded  to  all  the  dominion 
and  sovereignty  of  Russia. 

Great  Britain  made  no  protest.  Canada  made  no  protest.  The 
British  Hydrographic  Survey  of  British  Columbia  waters,  in  1868, 
respected  the  boundary  line  through  Dixon  Entrance  and  Portland 
Inlet.  No  sounding  was  made  west  of  the  mid-channel  of  that 
Inlet  as  laid  down  on  British  and  American  charts.  Nor  has  there 
been  any  survey  made  by  the  British  Admiralty  west  of  mid-channel 
of  the  Portland  Inlet  of  their  latest  charts. 

After  placer  gold  deposits  were  discovered  in  the  Cassiar  section 
of  British  Columbia  in  187 1,  the  question  of  the  ten  marine  leagues 
limit  was  first  mooted;  and  President  Grant  in  his  message  of 
December  2,  1872,  advised  Congress  to  have  a  survey  made  of  the 
whole  lisiere  region. 

Canada  made  a  local  survey  in  1877  to  determine  the  thirty  miles 
limit  across  the  Stakheen  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Customs 
House  upon  a  provisional  boundary  line. 

Mr.  R.  B.  Gosnell,  Librarian  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of 
British  Columbia,  has  written  that  "  up  to  1885  it  does  not  appear 
that  a  line  through  '  Portland  Channel '  was  ever  questioned. ' ' 

Hon.  Secretary  of  State  Bayard  wrote,  November  20th  1888; 
that  "no  question  has  arisen  between  the  two  governments  of 
the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  in  regard  to  this  boundary." 

In  1 88 1  the  subjects  of  British  Columbia  commenced  pelagic 
fur  sealing,  and  soon  found  it  exceedingly  profitable. 

In  1885  Canada  awakened  to  the  mineral  wealth  of  the  North- 
west Territory,  and  foreseeing  the  necessity  for  a  favorable  sea  con- 
nection with  the  interior,  commenced  a  series  of  puerile  conten- 
tions through  General  R.  D.  Cameron  and  Dr.  George  M.  Dawson 
of  the  Geological  Survey.  Most  of  them  were  revamped  from 
those  of  Sir  Charles  Bagot;  one  of  them  was  original, — that  the 
"Portland's  Canal"  of  Vancouver  and  the  "  Portland  Channel  " 
of  the  Convention  of  1825,  were  the  Pearse  Channel  or  Inlet  of 
these  later  days. 

No  faith  was  really  placed  in  these  predatory  and  untenable 
claims;  they  were  the  watered  stock  to  be  ofiered  in  exchange  for 


THE  TACTICS  OF  CANADA.  219 

the  later  claim  of  Pyramid  Harbor  and  the  head  of  Lynn  Canal, 
by  which  Canada  could  get  an  ocean  terminus  of  the  best  route 
into  the  Northwest  Territory.  Canada  knew  there  was  no  feasible 
route  into  the  interior  through  Portland  Canal  and  Burrough  Bay, 
nor  through  her  own  territory. 

Therefore  all  the  efforts  of  Canada  were  directed  to  the  head  of 
Lynn  Canal ;  it  was  worth  a  desperate  struggle.  The  language  of 
the  Convention  was  mutilated  in  correspondence;  the  meaning  of 
the  text  was  challenged  and  twisted;  and  "la  passe  dite  Portland 
ChanneV  of  Article  III,  was  declared  a  gross  oversight.  Maps 
were  produced  with  fictitious  mountain  ranges,  and  new  locations 
of  the  boundary  line  regulated  thereby. 

Thoughtful  Americans  and  Canadians  saw  clearly  the  need 
which  Canada  had  for  a  short  line  of  traffic  between  the  ocean 
waters  and  the  northern  interior.  Each  hoped  for  a  route  within 
their  own  territory.  There  was  none  available  by  way  of  the 
Portland  Canal,  and  the  Yukon  route  was  open  to  the  Americans 
but  three  months  in  the  year. 

The  United  States  commenced  explorations  for  an  all- Alaska 
route  by  way  of  the  Copper  River  in  1884,  and  again  in  1885. 
These  two  expeditions  led  to  other  attempts  that  pointed  to  success. 

The  Canadians  were  active  in  explorations  in  the  interior. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  follow  the  course  of  events  until  1894-95 
when  the  United  States  and  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  by  agreement, 
sent  surveying  parties  into  the  region  of  the  lisiere.  In  each 
Canadian  party  there  was  an  officer  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey,  and  in  each  United  States  party  there  was  a  Canadian 
officer  from  the  Department  of  Surveys. 

The  surveys  as  published  were  not  complete;  they  were  not 
carried  far  enough  inland  to  locate  la  crete,  crest-line  or  water- 
parting  of  the  lisiere.  The  Coast  Survey  parties  did  not  even 
locate  the  well-known  water-parting  of  the  White  and  Chilkoot 
Passes;  nor  did  they  survey  the  Chilkaht  Valley  to  the  ten  marine 
leagues  limit  from  the  deep  ocean  waters.  The  head  of  that  valley 
is  about  forty-five  miles  from  the  head  of  the  Inlet. 

Before  the  results  of  these  surveys  were  published,  the  discovery 


220  THE   AI^ASKA   BOUNDARY. 

of  placer  gold  on  the  Klondike  aroused  Canada  and  the  United 
States  to  the  complications  that  might  arise  in  international  revenue 
and  judicial  questions. 

A  stampede  took  place  from  British  Columbia  and  from  the 
Pacific  states.  Men  were  determined  to  push  through  their  outfits 
and  supplies  by  the  shortest  available  route.  Thirty  miles  stations 
were  fixed  beyond  the  Chilkoot  and  White  Passes  and  later  a  thirty 
miles  station  was  established  on  the  Clahini  (Tklse-heense)  tributary 
of  the  Chilkaht,  known  to  the  Canadians  as  ' '  Pleasant  Camp. ' ' 
We  believe  the  distances  were  accurately  measured  by  the 
survey  officers  of  the  Canadian  Land  Survey  Department,  and  were 
marked  by  posts  with  proper  designation  thereon.  South  of  the 
Chilkaht  station  rich  placer  diggings  were  discovered  near  the  Por- 
cupine River  or  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the  Chilkaht  emptying  just 
north  of  Klu-kwan'  which  we  had  occupied  as  an  astronomical 
station  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  in  1869. 

In  this  period  of  excitement  and  unrest,  the  maps  representing 
the  work  of  1894  and  1895  were  published  by  the  U.  S.  Coast  and 
Geodetic  Survey,  and  by  the  Department  of  Land  Surveys  of 
Canada.  But  other  maps  had  preceded  them  with  mutilations 
and  imaginary  boundary  lines.  In  these  no  regard  was  paid  to  the 
text  of  the  Convention.  The  rights  of  the  United  States  were 
cast  to  the  winds.  We  were  told  that  Canada  ' '  permitted  the 
United  States  to  hold  the  present  ports  of  Dyea  and  Skagway  both 
in  British  Territory."  These  and  many  other  contentions  were 
aided  and  abetted  by  the  published  opinions  of  legal  gentlemen 
(Queen's  Counsel)  and  by  the  Canadian  Parliament. 

The  Joint  High  Commission  of  August  1898,  had  disagreed 
because  the  Canadian  members  proposed  that  the  United  States 
should  cede  to  Canada,  in  perpetuity,  Pyramid  Harbor  at  the  head 
of  Chilkaht  Inlet;  and  also  cede  a  strip  of  land  therefrom  through 
the  Chilkaht  Valley  across  the  lisiere.  This  demand  verifies  what 
we  have  always  held,  that  all  other  contentions  were  simply  foils 
to  obtain  that  harbor  and  line  of  transit.  The  proposition  was  like 
asking  for  the  cession  of  a  harbor  on  the  coast  of  New  England, 
and  the  right  of  way  thence  to  the  St.  Lawrence. 


QUESTIONS   AGREED   UPON    BY    THE    TRIBUNAL.  221 

From  that  disagreement  arose  the  Modus  Vivendi  of  October 
1899,  in  which  territory  of  the  United  States  in  the  Chilkaht 
Valley  within  the  ten  marine  leagues  lisiere,  and  never  claimed 
by  Great  Britain,  was  given  temporarily  to  Canada. 

Then  came  the  Tribunal  of  January  24tli  1903,  composed  of  three 
American  members  and  three  representing  Great  Britain,  of  whom 
two  were  Canadians.  These  gentlemen  met  in  London  in  Sep- 
tember and  rendered  their  award  on  the  20th  of  October  1903. 

The  text  of  that  award  has  reached  us  as  we  are  writing.  It  is 
a  document  of  three  folio  pages  and  is  entitled:  "  Decision  of  the 
Alaska  Boundary  Tribunal  under  the  Treaty  of  January  24,  1903, 
between  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain." 

From  this  paper  we  learn  that  it  was  agreed  by  the  Convention 
that  the  Tribunal  should,  in  the  settlement  of  the  questions  sub- 
mitted to  its  decision,  consider  the  Treaties  between  Russia  and 
Great  Britain  in  1825,  ^^^  between  Russia  and  the  United  States 
in  1867;  and  should  also  take  into  consideration  any  action  of  the 
several  Governments  or  of  their  respective  Representatives,  prelim- 
inary or  subsequent  to  the  conclusion  of  the  said  Treaties  so  far  as 
the  same  tended  to  show  the  original  and  eflfective  understanding 
of  the  parties  in  respect  to  the  limits  of  their  several  territorial 
jurisdictions  under  and  by  virtue  of  the  provisions  of  the  said 
Treaties. 

It  was  further  agreed  by  the  said  Convention,  referring  to  Articles 
III,  IV  and  V  of  the  said  Treaty  of  1825,  that  the  said  Tribunal 
should  answer  and  decide  the  following  questions: — 

"  I.  What  is  intended  as  the  point  of  commencement  of  the 
line  ? 

2.  What  channel  is  the  Portland  Channel  ? 

3.  What  course  should  the  line  take  from  the  point  of  com- 
mencement to  the  entrance  to  Portland  Channel  ? 

4.  To  what  point  on  the  56th  parallel  is  the  line  to  be  drawn 
from  the  head  of  Portland  Channel,  and  what  course  should  it 
follow  between  these  points  ?  " 


222  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

The  gist  of  the  fifth  question  is:  In  extending  the  line  of 
demarcation  northward  along  the  crest-line  of  mountains  situated 
parallel  to  the  coast,  subject  to  the  conditions  that  if  such  line 
should  anywhere  exceed  the  distance  of  ten  marine  leagues  from 
the  ocean,  then  the  boundary  should  be  formed  by  a  line  parallel 
to  the  sinuosities  of  the  coast  and  distant  therefrom  not  more  than 
ten  marine  leagues,  was  it  the  intention  and  meaning  of  the  Con- 
vention of  1825  that  there  should  remain  in  exclusive  possession 
of  Russia  a  continuous  fringe,  or  strip,  of  coast  on  the  mainland 
not  exceeding  ten  marine  leagues  in  width,  separating  the  British 
possession  from  the  bays,  ports,  inlets,  havens  and  waters  of  the 
ocean,  etc.,  etc.? 

The  sixth  states  the  conditions  that  if  the  foregoing  question 
should  be  answered  in  the  negative,  or  should  the  summit  of  the 
mountains  be  more  than  ten  marine  leagues  from  the  coast,  then 
should  the  width  of  the  lisiere  be  measured  from  the  mainland 
coast;  or  where  the  mainland  is  indented  by  deep  inlets,  was  it 
the  intention  of  the  Convention  to  measure  the  width  of  the  lisiere 
from  the  general  direction  of  the  mainland  coast,  or  from  the  line 
separating  the  waters  of  the  ocean  from  the  territorial  waters  of 
Russia,  or  from  the  heads  of  the  aforesaid  inlets  ? 

The  seventh  question  asks  what  are  the  mountains  referred  to  as 
situated  parallel  to  the  coast. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  all  these  subjects  have  been  examined 
in  this  paper;  we  have  presented  sufficient  evidence  of  the  inten- 
tions of  the  two  Governments  in  framing  the  Convention  of  1825, 
and  have  described  the  Prince  of  Wales  Island,  Dixon  Entrance 
and  Portland  Channel,  and  explained  the  meanings  of  the  lisiere, 
the  Crete,  the  sinuosites,  etc. 

The  Award  is  accompanied  by  a  chart  of  the  Archipelago  Alex- 
ander and  the  mainland  northwestward  to  Mt.  St.  Elias.  It  is  on 
a  scale  of  thirty-three  marine  miles  to  one  inch.  It  is  entitled 
"Map  showing  Award  of  Alaska  Boundary  Tribunal,  October  20, 
1903."  Published  November,  1903.  Of  this  map  and  three 
others,  upon  which  the  boundary  line  is  plotted,  we  give  the 
following  description: 


MAPS   WITH   THE   AWARDED   BOUNDARY.  223 

The  map  attached  to  the  Award  is  on  a  scale  so  small  that  a 
clear  judgment  cannot  be  formed  of  the  character  and  relation  of 
the  mainland  and  of  the  islands,  straits,  inlets  and  rivers.  It  hides 
or  belittles  all  the  parts  surrendered.  The  width  of  the  newly  dis- 
covered Portland  Channel  should  be  represented  by  the  one-hundred 
and  thirtieth  part  of  one  inch. 

The  second  chart  has  the  same  title ;  the  scale  is  sixteen  nautical 
miles  to  one  inch.  It  has  some  orographical  features;  it  is  too 
small,  weak  and  unsatisfactory. 

In  these  two  charts  the  width  of  the  newly  discovered  Portland 
Channel  is  necessarily  exaggerated. 

The  third  chart  is  entitled,  "South  East  Alaska  Portland 
Channel  to  141st  Meridian;"  published  May,  1903.  The  scale  is 
eleven  nautical  miles  to  one  inch.  It  possesses  one  advantage  over 
the  others  in  having  the  channels  colored  light  blue;  but  there  are 
no  soundings  and  the  topography  exhibits  little  more  than  the  tops 
of  isolated  mountains. 

The  mountain  peaks  in  the  broken  line  boundary  are  exhibited 
upon  the  fourth  chart  No,  8050  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic 
Survey,  entitled  "  Dixon  Entrance  to  Head  of  Lynn  Canal,  South 
East  Alaska;"  published  in  August,  1902.  The  scale  is  eight 
nautical  miles  to  one  inch.  It  is  compiled  from  U.  S.  Coast  and 
Geodetic,  Russian  and  Canadian  Surveys.  It  covers  a  large  amount 
of  topographic  and  hydrographic  work,  and  while  not  complete 
through  the  lisiere,  it  gives  the  headwaters  of  some  of  the  streams 
flowing  into  the  ocean.  The  concessions  made  by  the  Tribunal  to 
Canada  can  be  fairly  well  studied. 

For  a  thorough  exhibit  of  the  proposed  line  a  map  on  the  scale 
of  chart  No.  8100  of  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Sur\'ey  with 
nearly  three  nautical  miles  to  one  inch  should  have  been  presented. 
It  would  require  several  sheets,  but  upon  these  could  be  shown 
with  clearness  all  the  topographic  features  gathered  in  the  surveys 
of  1894-95  ^^^  later  by  the  United  States  and  the  Dominion  of 
Canada. 

Referring  to  chart  No.  8050,  we  are  able  to  approximately  locate 
the  Crete  or  water-parting  at  two  or  three  parts  of  the  lisiere,  but 


224  'THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

these  have  not  been  accepted  by  the  Tribunal,  as,  for  instance,  at 
the  heads  of  Le  Due  and  Unuk  Rivers,  which  have  been  transferred 
to  Canada. 

At  theStakheen  the  broken  line  is  shown  to  cross  on  the  Canadian 
provisional  line  of  1877  which  stretched  ten  nautical  miles  west- 
wardly  from  Mt.  Whipple  to  an  unnamed  mountain  of  4300  feet  ele- 
vation, and  thence  across  the  river  to  mountains  of  only  4200  and 
4000  feet  elevation.  That  crossing  is  only  eighteen  or  nineteen  miles 
from  Pt.  Rothsay  at  the  southern  mouth  of  the  river.  East  of  these 
relatively  low  mountains  at  twenty-nine  and  thirty-one  miles  from 
Pt.  Rothsay,  are  the  peaks  of  Mt.  Laura  7527  feet,  Mt.  McGrath 
6179  feet;  with  Big  Mountain  8750  feet,  and  Pinnacle  8346  feet  at 
thirty-one  miles.  The  charts  differ  in  the  relative  position  of  the 
mountains  in  this  immediate  locality,  because  one  chart  has  two 
peaks  of  8750  and  7950  feet  unnamed  and  close  to  the  last  two, 
within  thirty-one  miles  of  Pt.  Rothsay.  Where  is  the  crete  in  this 
case  ?  Certainly  not  at  the  4200  feet  elevation.  By  this  concession 
Canada  controls  sixteen  miles  more  of  the  river  course  than  she  was 
entitled  to. 

From  a  neighboring  peak  of  the  Devils  Thumb,  the  line  has  not 
been  fixed  until  it  reaches  an  unnamed  mountain  of  ' '  approxi- 
mately" 8000  feet  elevation  in  latitude  58°  45'  and  longitude  133° 
50'.  This  undetermined  line  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-six 
geographical  miles  requires  future  surveys  by  which  to  establish 
proper  objects  for  controlling  points. 

The  last  station  mentioned  lies  only  nineteen  miles  from  the 
head  of  Taku  Inlet  with  the  headwaters  of  the  Tallsagkway  River 
stretching  fifteen  miles  more  to  the  northeastward,  and  indicating 
an  undetermined  crest-line  farther  inland. 

Thence  the  broken  line  boundary  follows  what  may  be  the  crest- 
line  of  the  mountains  to  the  White  and  Chilkoot  Passes,  which 
mark  the  water-parting  of  the  streams  that  flow  to  the  Yukon, 
and  those  that  reach  Taiya  Inlet  in  a  few  miles.  From  the  Chil- 
koot Pass  the  line  runs  northwestwardly  over  peaks  of  six  thousand 
feet  elevation,  and  crosses  the  Tahine  (Tahe^na)  by  peaks  of  6350 
and  6200  feet,  at  twenty-four  miles  from  the  deep  water  head  of 


TRACING  THE   NEW    BOUNDARY.  225 

Chilkoot  Inlet.  Within  the  thirty  miles  limit  is  an  unnamed  peak 
of  7025  feet  that  should  have  been  selected.  The  line  crosses  the 
Chilkaht  River  at  twenty-eight  miles  from  the  Chilkoot  Inlet,  and 
the  Clahini  (Tklae-heenae)  at  ' '  Pleasant  Camp  ' '  of  the  Canadian 
Customs  House,  thirty  miles  from  the  deep  water  of  the  Chil- 
kaht Inlet,  but  only  twenty-six  miles  from  the  deep  water  of 
Chilkoot  Inlet;  the  head  of  the  latter  should  govern  all  within  the 
thirty  miles  range. 

Beyond  this  the  broken  line  follows  a  series  of  peaks  to  Mt. 
Fairweather,  which  lies  within  sixteen  miles  of  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  thence  follows  the  peaks  of  the  Fairweather  and  Saint  Elias 
ranges  to  the  141st  meridian,  except  an  interval  of  forty-seven 
miles  across  the  Allsegh'  region,  where  no  surveys  or  reconnais- 
sances have  been  made. 

So  far  as  the  awarded  line  can  be  compared  with  the  thirty  miles 
limit  of  the  lisiere  around  the  Archipelago  Alexander,  it  appears 
that  about  one-third  of  the  area  thereof  has  been  allotted  to 
Canada.  And  following  the  line  backward  from  north  to  south, 
the  yielding  of  important  locations  has  been  that  across  the  Chil- 
kaht Valley  and  its  tributaries,  that  across  the  Taku  River,  that 
across  the  Stakheen,  and  the  two  large  islands  Wales  and  Pearse  on 
the  west  side  of  the  real  Portland  Channel. 

The  three  rivers  mentioned  are  the  routes  along  which,  in  time, 
must  lie  the  highways  of  travel,  and  especially  on  the  Chilkaht 
with  its  low  grade  and  easy  access  to  an  extended  plateau  region, 
that  stretches  hence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Lewes  River;  and  in 
another  direction  to  the  large  Lake  Klu-ah'-ne,  drained  by  a  tribu- 
tary of  the  White  River  into  the  Yukon.  On  the  Stakheen,  the 
Tribunal  surrenders  what  the  early  Canadian  surveys  had  laid 
down  as  American  territory. 

The  strangest  part  of  the  decision  is  that  relating  to  Portland 
Inlet  and  Canal,  and  we  are  left  in  the  dark  to  surmise  why  such 
a  palpable  surrender  was  made. 

We  have  shown  by  the  narrative  and  charts  of  Vancouver  what 
he  really  considered  "Portland's  Canal "  of  seventy  and  more  miles 
in  length.     It  is  one  of  the  largest  of  the  numerous  arms  he  had 


226  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

found  penetrating  the  Continental  shore  in  the  northwest,  and  it  so 
impressed  him  that  he  named  it  "in  honor  of  the  noble  family  of 
Bentinck."  He  entered  it  with  the  Discovery  and  Chatham; 
established  an  observatory  at  Salmon  Cove  in  Observatory  Inlet; 
and  personally  made  a  protracted  boat  reconnaissance  to  the  head 
of  Portland  Canal,  passed  through  the  unnamed  Pearse  Channel, 
and  continued  along  the  continental  shore  to  the  north.  Upon  his 
return  he  promptly  started  for  further  explorations,  and  wrote: 
* '  The  route  by  which  the  vessels  had  advanced  to  Salmon  Cove, 
being  infinitely  better  for  them  to  pursue  towards  Cape  Caamana, 
than  the  intricate  channel  through  which  I  had  passed  in  the  boats 
we  weighed,"  etc.,  etc.      (Vol.  II,  page  378.) 

Could  any  words  be  stronger  ?  ' '  Infinitely  better ' '  and  ' '  intri- 
cate, ' '  would  indicate  the  soundest  advice  he  could  offer  to  the 
future  navigator,  explorer  or  geographer.  They  were  to  beware  of 
Pearse  Channel.  Would  Vancouver  have  dared  to  enter  the  upper 
part  of  the  channel  by  the  line  laid  down  by  the  Tribunal  ? 

The  Negotiators  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain,  in  1822-25,  cer- 
tainly understood  what  Vancouver's  charts  and  narrative  meant. 
Had  there  been  any  doubt  whether  the  master  channel  was  to  be 
taken  as  a  boundary  line,  or  an  intricate  and  dangerous  channel  not 
easily  found  nor  readily  described  by  words,  there  would  have  been 
some  mention  of  it  in  the  discussions.  The  Russians  demanded 
every  island,  channel  and  inlet  between  Prince  of  Wales  Island  and 
the  continental  shore;  they  were  retained,  and  continued  under 
Russian  control  until  the  Emperor  of  all  the  Russias  ceded  them 
to  the  United  States. 

In  the  ' '  Observations  of  Russian  Plenipotentiaries  on  Sir  C. 
Bagot's  amended  Proposal,"  those  negotiators  in  accordance  with 
the  liberal  conditions  of  arbitration  proposed  by  ' '  Count  Lieven 
to  Mr.  George  Canning"  under  date  of  "  Londres,  le  19  (31) 
Janvier  1823,"*  make  this  statement: 

"Cependant,  d'apres  le  principe  des  convenances  mutuelles,  le 


*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration,  VoX.lWy  pages  428  and  397;  and  referred  to  by  Sir 
Charles  Bagot  in  his  letter  to  Mr.  George  Canning  from  St.  Petersburgh,  March  17 
(29),  1824,  page  424. 


TRIBUNAI.   DISCOVERS   A    NEW   PORTLAND   CHANNEL.  227 

projet  d' arrangement  des  Plenipotentiaires  de  Russie,  laisse  ou verts 
k  I'extension  successive  des  Colonies  Anglaises  : 

"  I.  Toute  la  partie  de  la  cote  situee  entre  I'embouchure  du 
Portland  Channel  et  le  5ie  degre  de  latitude  nord,  envisagde  comme 
limite  des  possessions  Russes  dans  l'0uk;asedu4  (16)  Septembre, 
1821." 

Every  square  mile  of  land  south  of  the  entrance  to  Portland 
Channel,  was  thereby  conceded  to  Great  Britain.  Her  Plenipo- 
tentiary knew  exactly  what  Russia  retained  and  what  she  had 
yielded. 

The  Hudson's  Bay  Company  made  no  claims  whatever  to  the  lab- 
yrinth of  islands  and  dangers  ou  the  western  side  of  the  true  entrance 
to  Portland  Channel.  To  be  as  close  to  Russian  territory  as  prac- 
ticable, they  established  their  first  trading  station  or  post  at  the 
entrance  to  Nasse  River  that  empties  into  Observatory  Inlet.  They 
abandoned  that  and  established  another  at  Fort  Simpson  near  the 
southeastern  point  of  the  entrance  to  Portland  Channel.  The 
Tongass  Village  was  opposite  the  new  location  in  a  sheltered  spot 
on  Tongass  Island,  near  what  is  now  decreed  to  have  been  British 
territory;*  but  the  Company  knew  to  their  sorrow  that  it  was  in 
Russian  territory.  The  episode  of  the  Dryad  affair  warned  the 
Company  not  to  put  their  foot  on  island  or  mainland  decided  to 
belong  to  Russia  by  a  Convention  that  was  framed,  accepted  and 
settled  after  years  of  discussion. 

Every  chart  of  this  region  since  Vancouver's  time  has  the  name 
of  Portland  Canal,  Channel  or  Inlet,  marked  down  the  master 
channel.  Brue's  map  of  1883  draws  the  boundary  line  through 
that  Channel  from  head  to  entrance,  and  thence  westwardly  to  Cape 
Muzon,  although  the  then  unnamed  Pearse  Channel  is  shown  as 
well  as  Wales  Island. 

Sir  George  Simpson's  Parliamentary  map  of  1857  colored  all  the 

*  In  his  narrative,  Sir  George  Simpson  describes  Fort  Simpson  and  names  some 
of  the  tribes  living  "  south  of  the  international  boundary,"  and  leaves  the  Russian 
Indians  and  the  tribes  of  Kygarnie,  Tongass  and  the  Isles  des  Chamelsettes  to  the 
north.  He  estimated  the  whole  number  at  fourteen  thousand  souls.  This  post 
"lay  within  the  range  of  the  competition  of  the  Russians  at  Sitka."  Pages  122 
and  123,  Philadelphia  edition  of  his  Journey  round  the  World:  1847. 


228  THE   ALASKA    BOUNDARY. 

islands  as  belonging  to  Russia.  He  had  been  on  the  spot;  he  had 
made  the  leases;  and  he  knew  what  the  Convention  of  1825  meant. 
That  knowledge  cost  the  Company  an  annual  rent  of  two  thousand 
otter  skins.  On  his  map  he  does  not  even  lay  down  the  net  work 
o>f  channels  and  islands  to  the  westward  of  the  master  channel. 

The  British  Admiralty  has  had  no  doubts  upon  the  subject  up 
to  1900  in  the  latest  chart  published.  Through  the  hydrographic 
surveys  of  Richards  and  Pender,  that  body  was  thoroughly  posted. 
In  fact  Rear  Admiral  Richards  became  one  of  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty. 

The  navigator  or  geographer  who  will  examine  Admiralty  chart 
No.  2458  of  1900,  and  the  U.  S.  Coast  and  Geodetic  Survey  chart 
No.  8100  of  1899,  without  referring  to  the  charts  and  narrative  of 
Vancouver  or  the  references  thereto  by  the  negotiators,  must  arrive 
at  one  conclusion  only.  The  navigator  who  should  choose  to  take 
a  ship  through  the  Tongass  Passage  of  the  Admiralty  Chart,  and 
proceed  thence  through  the  unnamed  and  crooked  passage  under 
the  northwest  shore  of  Wales  Island,  with  its  numerous  dangers 
to  navigation,  and  continue  through  Pearse  Channel,  one-quarter 
the  width  of  the  throat  of  the  Golden  Gate,  in  preference  to  Van- 
couver's Portland  Canal,  would  deservedly  lose  his  command.  No 
Insurance  company  would  accept  a  risk  through  such  an  intricate 
channel. 

At  the  narrowest  part  of  the  Pearse  Channel,  where  the  depth  of 
water  is  thirty-nine  fathoms,  the  tides  rise  and  fall  over  eighteen 
feet,  with  conflicting  tidal  currents  from  the  northeast,  from  the 
southwest,  and  from  the  southeast  through  Wales  Passage.  It 
would  be  no  exaggeration  to  estimate  the  velocity  of  those  currents 
at  ten  knots, — recalling  to  the  navigator  the  relatively  trifling  but 
dreaded  dangers  of  the  Seymour  Narrows  in  Discovery  Passage, 
Vancouver  Island;  (through  which  we  have  passed  four  times). 

It  has  been  asserted  that  the  United  States,  by  the  decision  of 
the  Tribunal  has  received  from  Great  Britain  the  islands  Sitklan 
and  Kannaghunut,  six  square  miles  in  extent.  Such  an  arrange- 
ment would  be  equivalent  to  assuming  that  Pearse  Island,  Wales 
Island,  (covering  one  hundred    and  twenty-seven    square  miles), 


THE   UNITED  STATES   ASSERTS  SOVEREIGNTY.  229 

the  two  islands  mentioned,  and  Tongass  Island  were  situated  east 
and  south  of  Portland  Channel,  and  that  Russia  first,  and  the 
United  States  afterward,  had  been  trespassers  upon  British  terri- 
tory for  seventy-eight  years.  And  further  that  the  maintenance 
of  the  military  post.  Fort  Tongass,  had  been  an  unjustifiable 
occupation  by  the  United  States. 

The  United  States  had  never  the  shadow  of  a  doubt  about  her 
rights  of  jurisdiction  over  the  west  shore  of  the  Portland  Channel 
of  Vancouver,  of  the  Convention  of  1825  and  of  the  Treaty  of 
1867;  and  therefore  in  1896,  she  significantly  made  good  her 
claim  thereto  by  building  four  stone  military  store  houses  along 
its  length.  The  first  is  situated  at  Manzanita  Cove  on  the 
southeast  shore  of  Wales  Island.  The  legend  cut  in  the  stone  of 
this  and  the  other  buildings  is,  "  U.  S.  Property.  Do  not  injure," 
with  the  date  of  ^occupation  and  assertion  on  the  flagstaff.  The 
second  building^  a^c  situated  on  the  southeast  shore  of  Pearse  Island 
at  Lizard  Point,  about  seven  miles  northeast  from  Wales  Passage. 
The  fourth  is  at  Eagle  Point  in  latitude  55°  S4-H'  ^^^^  ^^^  head  of 
Portland  Inlet,  where  the  depth  of  water  is  forty  fathoms  in  the 
channel.  The  head  of  deep  water  in  the  channel  is  one  mile  north 
of  Eagle  Point.  In  each  building  was  left  an  outfit  of  stores,  tools 
and  cooking  utensils;  also  a  United  States  storm  flag,  except  in 
No.   4.* 

Great  Britain  made  no  protest;  we  have  not  heard  that  Canada 
made  any  protest  against  these  acts  of  sovereignty. 

Since  1794  every  chart  of  the  Northwest  Coast  of  America 
issued  by  American  and  European  governments,  has  recognized 
but  one  Portland  Canal.  Every  geographer  and  navigator  knows 
of  but  one.  Now  after  one  hundred  and  ten  years  the  Tribunal  of 
1903  decrees  they  were  all  mistaken;  that  the  second  explorer,  Van- 
couver, was  mistaken;  that  the  negotiators  and  governments  of  1825 
and  1867  were  acting  under  a  delusion;  that  the  Hudson's  Bay 
Company  had  forgotten  or  overlooked  their  rights  to  these  surren- 
dered and  adjacent  islands,  and  that  it  was  left  to  this  Tribunal  to 
discover  a  new  Portland  Channel  to  be  recognized  henceforth  by 

*  Senate.    Document  No.  ig.    54th  Congress,  2d  Session.    December  14,  i8g6. 


230  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

all  hydrograpliic  bureaus,  all  navigators,  all  geographers  and   all 
governments. 

The  history  of  this  boundary  problem  reveals  the  pressure  and 
influence  brought  to  bear  upon  the  government  of  Great  Britain 
at  several  important  epochs. 

In  the  Convention  of  1825,  after  the  prompt  acquiescence  of 
Russia  to  the  protests  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain 
against  the  Ukase  of  1821,  there  followed  two  or  three  years  of 
controversy  about  boundaries.  The  British  Government  therein 
became  the  actual  agent  of  the  territory-absorbing  Hudson's  Bay 
Company,  which  presented  its  nebulous  claims  to  the  Northwest 
Territory;  and  the  Foreign  Office  proceeded  upon  the  assumption 
that  to  obtain  certain  limited  but  valuable  possessions  belonging  to 
Russia,  it  was  the  proper  policy  to  make  extravagant  demands. 

During  the  Crimean  war  of  1854-55  between  Russia  and  the 
allied  powers  of  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy  and  Turkey,  the 
power  of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company  and  the  Russian  American 
Company  was  confessedly  strong  enough  to  avert  a  British  attack 
upon  the  Alaska  possessions  of  Russia. 

In  1885  Secretary  of  State  Bayard  wrote  to  Ambassador  Phelps 
at  the  Court  of  St.  James,  November  20th,  and  informed  him  that 
his  attention  had  been  called  to  the  question  of  laying  down  the 
Alaska  Boundary,  and  that  President  Cleveland  was  anxious  that 
it  should  be  settled.  He  therefore  suggested  that  Mr.  Phelps 
should  seek  consideration  of  the  matter  by  "the  Marquis  of  Salis- 
bury, and  invite  an  early  expression  of  his  views,  touching  the 
expediency  of  appointing  an  international  commission  at  the 
earliest  practicable  day  to  fix  upon  a  conventional  boundary  line, 
which,  while  in  substantial  accord  with  the  presumed  intent  of  the 
negotiators  of  the  Anglo-Russian  Convention  of  1825,  shall  be 
fixed  and  readily  determinable  in  whole  or  in  part  under  the 
ordinary  conditions  of  astronomical  and  topographical  sur\'eys. ' '  * 

Ambassador  Phelps  answered  that  note  on  the  13th  January, 
1886,  stating  that  after  an  interview  on  the  subject  "Lord 
Salisbury   desires,    however,  before   coming  to   a    conclusion    to 

*  Senate.     Ex.  Doc.  No.  143.     4gth  Congress,  2d  Session,  May  //,  jSS6. 


GREAT   BRITAIN   CONSTRAINED    BY   CANADA.  23 1 

communicate  by  mail  with  the  colonial  authorities  of  Canada." 

In  1888,  it  was  "held  by  the  Government  of  Canada,  on 
evidence  which  they  deem  sufficient,  that  no  real  danger  exists  of 
the  extermination  of  the  seal  fishery  in  Behring's  Sea.  They 
therefore  contend  that,  if  the  United  States  are  not  of  that  opinion, 
that  Government  should  make  the  proposals  which  they  consider 
necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  species.  If,  however,  the 
renewal  of  negotiations  is  considered  expedient  by  Her  Majesty's 
Government,  Canada  will  agree  to  that  course  on  the  following 
conditions:"  *  *  *  one  of  which  was  "that  the  United  States 
Government  shall  first  abandon  any  claim  to  regard  the  Behring's 
Sea  as  a  7nare  clausmn^  and  that  any  existing  legislation  in  the 
United  States,  which  would  seem  to  support  that  claim,  shall  be 
either  amended  or  repealed." 

Well  might  Mr.  Phelps  remark  to  the  Tribunal:  "If  this 
formed  an  important  chapter  in  the  history  of  Great  Britain,  the 
future  historian  might  inquire  which  was  the  Empire  and  which 
was  the  Province." 

Subsequently  Sir  Julian  Pauncefote  wrote  that  he  "sounded" 
Secretary  of  State  Blaine  on  the  "Subject  of  Canada  being 
directly  represented  in  any  diplomatic  negotiations  which  might 
be  renewed  for  the  settlement  of  the  controversy.  Mr.  Blaine  at 
once  expressed  his  absolute  objection  to  such  a  course.  He  said 
the  question  was  one  between  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States, 
and  that  his  Government  would  certainly  refuse  to  negotiate  with 
the  Imperial  and  Dominion  Governments  jointly,  or  with  Great 
Britain,  with  the  condition  that  the  conclusions  arrived  at  should 
be  subject  to  the  approval  of  Canada. ' '  * 

In  1903  Great  Britain  has  been,  we  are  constrained  to  believe, 
reluctantly  compelled,  by  political  considerations,  to  put  forward 
on  behalf  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada,  what  Sir  George  Simpson 
could  have  justly  denounced  with  peculiarly  severe  application, 
"the  marauder's  plea  of  contiguity." 

*  Fur  Seal  Arbitration.  Vol.  XV,  page  8;  Oral  Argument  of  Hon.  Edward  J. 
Phelps,  June  22,  1893. 


232  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

Those  are  five  of  the  epochs  where  the  Government  of  Great 
Britain  was  assuredly  acting  under  constraint. 

In  the  diplomatic  controversy  with  Russia  in  182 2-1 82 5,  Great 
Britain  acquired  much  to  which  she  had  no  right  whatever,  but 
she  lost  the  key  to  Southeast  Alaska,  the  natural  highway  to 
the  interior. 

In  the  present  case  the  United  States  has  surrendered  part  of  the 
rights  which  Russia  had  consistently  and  persistently  refused  to 
yield  to  Great  Britain, — rights  which  she  held  unchallenged  by 
any  government  for  forty-two  years,  and  which  the  United  States 
has  held  for  thirty-six  years  more. 

No  wonder  that  the  resultant  loss  to  the  United  States  has 
already  been  designated  a  "sacrifice"  by  good  authority  in 
Washington. 

In  conclusion.  The  Award  of  October  20,  1903,  by  the  Alaska 
Boundary  Tribunal  is  contrary  to  the  letter  and  spirit  of  the  Con- 
vention of  1825,  ^^"^  i^  defiance  of  the  intention  and  understanding 
of  the  two  Governments  then  interested. 

It  may  be  satisfactory  to  our  Government,  but  it  is  not  a  sound, 
judicial  decision. 

That  part  of  the  award  relating  to  the  Portland  Channel  is  a 
geographical  paradox.  Neither  chart,  arbitration,  statute  or  edict 
would  convince  the  engineer,  the  navigator,  the  geographer,  that 
the  Kill  van  KuU  is  the  channel  and  highway  of  the  Hudson  River; 
nor  will  any  argument  convince  the  world  of  geographers  that  the 
"intricate"  Pearse  Channel  of  the  Canadian  contentions,  is  the 
"infinitely  better"  Portland's  Canal  of  Captain  George  Van- 
couver and  the  Plenipotentiaries  of  Russia  and  Great  Britain  in 
1825. 

November  30th,  1903. 


APPENDIX. 


Copy  of  letter  from  Governor  James  Douglas  to  George  Davidson. 

Endorsed, 
From    Sir   James    Douglas  in   re  River 

Chilkaht. 
Rec'd  Germantown  June  17/68 
Acki  "  June  17/68 

Extracts  to  Supt.         "       17/68 

' '  Vancouver  Island 
Victoria  lath  May  1868. 
*  *  George  Davidson  Esq^f 
Asst  U  S  Coast  Survey 
Washington  D  C. 
"Sir: 

I  have  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  your  letter  of  the  19th 
Feby-  last,  in  which  you  state  that  the  Superintendent  of  the  U.  S. 
Coast  Survey  had  it  in  view,  to  assign  to  one  of  your  astronomical 
parties  the  duty  of  observing  the  physical  phenomena  of  the  total 
Solar  eclipse  of  7th.  Augt  1869,  whose  path  of  totality  passes 
over  Alasca  and  British  Columbia  about  25  miles  north  of  the 
mouth  of  Chilcat  River  and  about  50  miles  north  of  the  mouth  of 
the  Tacow  flowing  respectively  into  the  head  of  Lyn  Canal  and 
Stevens'  passage  and  you  ask  for  information  as  to  the  best  means 
of  reaching  those  points  with  the  stores  and  astronomical  Instru- 
ments requisite  for  any  party  employed  there. 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that  the  information  we  possess,  about  the 
character  of  the  Rivers  and  means  of  travelling  in  that  part  of  the 
country  are  of  the  most  meagre  description;  neither  the  Chilcat 
nor  Takow  Rivers  having  ever  been  made  use  of,  by  the  Hudsons 
Bay  Company,  as  routes  of  communication  to  and  from  their 
inland  Posts  and  the  sea  coast.  In  fact  the  only  route,  north  of 
Columbia  River,  resorted  to,  for  that  purpose,  by  the  Hudsons  Bay 
Company,  is  that,  which  follows  Eraser's  River  and  its  tributaries, 
from  the  sea  coast  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


234  THE   ALASKA   BOUNDARY. 

We  have  thus  no  positive  evidence  of  the  fact,  that  the  Chilcat 
or  Tacow  Rivers  are  either  of  them  generally  navigable;  on  the 
contrary,  I  think  this  may  be  predicated  of  them,  only  for  a  short 
distance  from  the  coast,  and  in  craft  not  larger  than  Boats  or 
canoes.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Natives  of  these  districts,  in 
their  periodical  migrations  from  the  coast,  ascend  these  Rivers  in 
their  ordinary  travelling  canoes  and  find  no  great  difficulty  in 
reaching  the  limit  of  navigation  at  about  30  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Chilcat,  and  something  more  than  that  distance,  probably 
about  50  miles,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Tacow. 

This  would  give  a  total  navigable  distance  of  between  30  and 
50  miles  in  a  general  north  east  direction.  The  route  is  then  con- 
tinued by  land  through  a  rough  hilly  country  and  finally  brings 
the  traveller  out  upon  a  level  plateau  beyond  the  mountain  some  60 
miles  from  the  sea  coast.* 

I  cannot  report  very  favorably  of  the  Natives.  They  constitute 
a  section  or  branch  of  a  very  powerful  Tribe  and  used  to  be  exces- 
sively saucy  and  turbulent,  though  not  dishonest,  nor  destitute  of 
a  rough,  generous  hospitality.  They  have  probably  improved  in 
their  manners,  since  the  time  I  refer  to,  nearly  20  years  ago,  as 
they  now  keep  up  a  constant  intercourse  with  the  white  settlements 
both  Russian  and  British. 

The  seasons  vary  in  character,  but  as  a  rule,  the  climate  on  the  coast 
is  wet  and  disagreeable.  Storms  of  wind  and  rain,  are  of  frequent 
occurrence  early  in  September.  The  climate  of  the  level  plateau 
east  of  the  mountains,  is  reported  to  be  much  pleasanter,  especially 
in  the  month  of  August  when  the  weather  is  usually  fine  and  clear. 

With  respect  to  transport  I  would  recommend  the  employment 

*  ' '  The  Gulf  of  Taco  is  so  called  from  its  receiving  the  river  of  the  same  name. 
This  stream,  according  to  Mr.  Douglas,  who  had  ascended  it  for  about  thirty-five 
miles,  pursued  a  serpentine  course  between  stupendous  mountains,  which  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  points  of  alluvial  soil,  rose  abruptly  from  the  water's  edge 
with  an  uninviting  surface  of  snow  and  ice.  In  spite  of  the  rapidity  of  the  cur- 
rent, the  savages  of  the  coast  proceed  about  a  hundred  miles  in  canoes.  *  *  They 
drive  a  profitable  business  as  middlemen,  with  the  neighboring  tribes.  *  *  The 
Taco  seven  tribes  muster  about  four  thousand  souls," 

An  Overland  Journey  Round  the  World  *  *  by  Sir  George  Simpson  *  *  Phil- 
adelphia, 1847.     Page  127. 


THE   TAKU  AND   CHILKAHT   RIVERS.  235 

of  canoes  manned  with  Indian  crews  for  the  conveyance  of  the 
party,  as  far  as  the  River  is  navigable,  from  whence  the  stores 
would  have  to  be  packed  by  the  same  crews,  to  the  observatory 
wherever  that  might  be  established.  The  packages  should  not  be 
over  80  lb.  in  weight,  that  being  about  as  much  as  an  active  Native 
could  manage  to  carry,  over  the  steep  rugged  trails  of  the  country. 

Men  and  canoes,  in  sufficient  number  for  the  conveyance  of 
stores,  may  be  brought  together  from  the  immediate  coast,  and  I 
believe  at  a  moderate  rate  of  compensation. 

The  party  should  be  fully  provided  with  subsistence,  for  the 
whole  time  they  are  to  be  out,  as  the  resources  of  the  country  are 
in  themselves  scanty  and  precarious. 

The  Hudsons  Bay  Company  have  no  person  in  their  service  at 
present  who  would  be  of  much  use  to  your  party,  but  there  is  a 
retired  Chief  Trader  here,  a  Mr.  George  Blenkensop,  a  gentleman 
of  great  intelligence  and  of  large  experience,  having  been  for 
many  years  in  charge  of  the  Hudsons  Bay  Company's  Trading 
Post  at  Stekine,  who  would  I  fancy  join  the  party  with  alacrity, 
and  you  might  safely  commit  to  him  the  entire  superintendence  of 
the  transport  service,  and  the  management  of  the  Indian  canoe 
men,  as  he  thoroughly  understands  the  character  of  those  savages, 
and  would  conduct  the  transport  with  care  and  regularity.  Should 
you  wish  to  retain  him  for  that  service,  it  would  be  advisable  to 
communicate  with  him  direct,  and  as  soon  as  you  conveniently 
can,  or  he  may  be  otherwise  engaged  when  you  want  him. 

Regretting  that  I  have  nothing  connected  with  the  physical 
geography  of  the  north  west  coast,  of  a  more  precise  nature,  to 
lay  before  you,  and  with  best  wishes,  for  the  successful  issue  of  the 
scientific  researches  you  have  in  view 

I  remain 
Sir 
Your  most  obt  Serv^ 

(Signed)  James  Douglas." 

Mem.  The  body  of  the  letter  and  the  signature  are  in  the  same 
handwriting.  There  is  not  an  erasure  or  a  correction  in  the  four  folio 
pages  except  the  word  directly  has  been  erased  to  direct.       G.  D. 


From   Cspt  Muion 


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MAP    TO    ACCOMPANY    REPORT    ON    THE    ALASKA    BOUNDARY.   1903 


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Sou'ntiary  Un^  by  Brthih  CmUmbia  ^/S9J-  't^t.V»nrB»*i  of  3r,fiab  O^im 


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NORTH  WEST  COAST  OF  AMKRITA 


DIXON  ENTRANCK  TO  CAPE  ST.  KUas 


EXPUANATION. 

Jill'.  Cliiin  IV  n  plioto-lilb"  rt^tmUiaion  of  clmrl  No.  »ooo  of  ilic  Ihiii  it!  .Slate* 
C<M.<t  and  Goodclic  Survey,  nf  Manlt.  IOMT  Af  tfiv  oiitlioea  o(  llie  CoDltoenUl  <bore 
and  It1aii(l»  wcrp  vecy  niintiicly  eugrivcil  lhe3'  hmc  Iwcn  MrFnglheiinl  iti  nnler  lo  tiring 

■  n.graphv  of  ihe  churit  Nos.  Soio, 

'loiit.    Upon  il  Ihe  Uoiindary  lioe 

I  I    -'f  Uie  Inlcis,  wilhout  repaid  to  the 

Thit  *lie«t  lins  been  prepaitd  n  further  ucbibii,  i :  the  I.isii're  to  far  is  the  official 
i-hurU  will  aJniil  by  ihe  locmioii  of|iie  CtCle  or  trctil'tiiie  of  Ihe  iDOiinlniii  rangM,  and 
by  ibc  dele  Tin  inaiioi)  of  (be  deep  v^tcr  licails  oP  ilie  Intcik ;  i :  Ibe  Canariinn  cUims  to 
Hie  Boiiuilary  line  »(  tlie  official  ni'djof  1887 ;  3 :  Ibc  Itnttih  Cohinibii  claiiiii  n^  shown 
upon  the  map  o(  iSg? ;  it  ihe  lacaon  of  the  provisiouiil  boundary  e:itablUh»d  by  ihe 
.1/*/.,.  >  ji^A  of  October  30lh.  ilt^jat  the  While  Paw,  the  Chilkool  Pu»».  ihc  ChilWalit 
Rivrt  it(r«iii([  north  of  Klu-kwnj|  along  Ihe  TkliV-heeTiit,  to  one  itijlc  north  of  the 
iriiuiUi  nf  the  Porcupine  Htm,  and  d«ncc  sou thu-est ward  for  »ix  luilcs. 

The  lubcharl  it  a  pfaoio-litlio  feroduclion  of  Ihe  Briti«h  AdmiTatty  chart  No.  1461 
iif  ()ttc)b«r  I.  1X56,  to  Match,  i86jllS&nic  scale  as   the  original.     That  chart  exhibit* 
vciy  L'learly  the  thirty  luilu  R(iu|iiry  lioc  aronnd  the  he.-idi  of  such  intel 
then  knoim. 


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P^-t-»i«d.  i^  OUUA*  P«iu«    tt**«**U-^  .  S*.^  ^^t^c*«  ,  GjLJrvH.*. 


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JUN  2    1949 

mi  6 19^^ 

FEB  2  7  1953.^ 
WAR  1  7  1955 


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